X-Ray Studies on Preferred Orientation in Carbon Fibers

Abstract

The preferred orientation in carbon fibers of cellulosic origin as a function of the temperature of heat treatment has been determined by x‐ray diffraction. It is shown that the preferred orientation in the starting material is destroyed with the destruction of the cellulose structure; only a very small orientation effect remains and stays nearly constant up to a heat‐treatment temperature of about 1000°C. Further heating produces a reorientation which can attain and even surpass the degree of preferred orientation in the starting material. No evidence for a direct correlation between the preferred orientation in the starting material and the carbonized product has been found.