Continuous, hollow polymer precursors and carbon fibers produced therefrom
AssigneesHills, Inc., The Boeing Company
InventorsThomas K. Tsotsis, Jeff Haggard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a continuous, multicellular, hollow carbon fiber wherein the fiber structure includes a substantially hollow fiber and multiple internal walls defining multiple integral internal hollow fibers such that the fiber structure comprises a honeycomb-like cross section.
Claims14
A continuous, multicellular, hollow carbon fiber comprising carbon wherein the fiber structure comprises a substantially hollow fiber comprising an outer wall having an outside diameter and multiple internal walls defining multiple integral internal hollow fibers such that the fiber structure comprises a honeycomb-like cross section wherein the outer wall comprises a thickness ranging from about 100 to about 900 nanometers.
A polymer precursor comprising:
- a first polymer component comprising a melt-spinnable polymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), pitch, polyphenylene sulfide and combinations thereof and
- a second polymer component comprising a fugitive polymer which is dissociable from the first polymer wherein the precursor comprises an islands-in-the-sea configuration such that the second polymer component comprises a plurality of islands and the first polymer component comprises the sea.
14-20. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.