China's Carbon Fiber
The research on carbon fiber industry in China can be traced back to the 1960s.
However, until 2000, the industrialization of carbon fiber has not been realized, and due to the long-term development of carbon fiber preparation technology in China, various research units gradually began to have insufficient confidence. R&D personnel from all walks of life have avoided the word "carbon fiber". At this time, it is the most difficult trough period for the localization and research and development of carbon fiber materials.
Against this background, Mr. Shi Changxu, a strategic scientist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, took the lead in discussing the industrialization of carbon fiber in 2000.
At the beginning of 2001, the teacher sent a "request report on accelerating the development of high-performance carbon fiber" to the Party Central Committee. In October 2001, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China decided to set up a special project on carbon fiber key technologies, code-named 304 special project.
Since then, China has officially entered the fast lane of independent research and development of carbon fiber...
How does carbon fiber become popular abroad?
At the end of the 19th century, British Joseph Swan and American Thomas Edison invented carbon filament in search of improved light bulb filaments. Although this carbon filament was replaced by cheaper tungsten filaments at the time, this carbonized fibrous material is now considered to be the earliest budding product of carbon fiber.
Edison
In the subsequent historical development, carbon filament has always been considered as a failure of filament optimization, and has not received attention in industry and production.
Until that magical organization, NASA, appeared on the stage of history, this new type of aerospace material with high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, high strength and low density was reconnected to modern civilization and was named "carbon fiber".
Just as diapers, air-cushioned shoes, and dehydrated vegetables have all moved from NASA to the civilian field, carbon fiber, as the "new love" found by NASA in the material industry, is naturally valued by various companies to see if it can be the first. A person who eats crabs is the first to seize the market and make a fortune.
As a result, the United Carbon Compound Company UCC entered the carbon fiber development industry, and in 1959 developed the world's first listed viscose-based carbon fiber material Thornel-25.
At that time, during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, various arms races took off. If you have an airplane, I will go to the universe, and if you go to the universe, I will go to the moon. As a material with excellent performance in aerospace and military fields, carbon fiber has also been widely used.
First man on the moon: Armstrong
Since the United States needs, then there is Japan made.
At that time, Japan, as the largest "trophy" of the United States in World War II, also began active research on carbon fiber.
In fact, UCC's Thornel-25 is actually not perfect. The technological name of carbon fiber was synonymous with banknotes in the 1950s. According to the price of gold at that time, carbon fiber of the same quality was more expensive than gold. The high cost of proper black gold became the biggest pain point of carbon fiber at that time.
In 1961, Akio Shinto of the Osaka Industrial Laboratory successfully invented the technology for preparing polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers.
Shinto Akio
Previously, the carbonization yield of viscose-based fibers of NASA was relatively low, only 20%. That is, after 100 kg of viscose-based fiber is carbonized, only 20 kg of carbon fiber can be obtained.
According to the molecular formula of viscose, the proportion of carbon atoms is about 44%, but in the process of carbonization, half of the carbon atoms react with oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. This also results in the lower performance of viscose-based carbon fiber, which is not satisfactory.
Akio Jindo used PAN to have the characteristics of thermal stability after pre-oxidation, that is to say, during the carbonization process, the chemical activity of carbon atoms of PAN fibers is not high, and the carbon atoms can be well maintained.
Facts have proved that Kondo Akio's judgment is correct. The carbonization yield of the process route he developed is between 50-60%, and the performance is far superior to viscose-based fibers. The conversion rate has risen, and the price has naturally fallen. Since then, PAN has quickly replaced viscose-based carbon fibers. Now the share of viscose-based carbon fibers is less than 10%, while PAN-based carbon fibers account for more than 80% of the share.
With the first-hand preparation technology of polyacrylonitrile precursor, Toray has successfully been at the forefront of carbon fiber preparation.
Subsequently, in 1971, Japan's Toray Company (Toray, English name 'Toray Industries, Inc) cooperated with United Carbon Compounds of the United States to produce T300 carbon fiber, and achieved mass production of 1 ton/month at that time.
Subsequently, Toray Company continued to upgrade the quality of carbon fiber along the T300, T800, T1000, and pioneered the addition of carbon fiber materials to sporting goods such as rackets, fishing rods, golf clubs, etc., which became a sought-after product in the sporting goods industry. Japan's Toray also rose to fame, becoming the world's largest manufacturer of carbon fiber materials.