David PAYNE, Lisa PRICE

DOI Number: N/A

Conference number: HiSST-2025-185

Disordered carbons, with closed porosity, represent one of the most structurally complex and versatile materials in existence. Their applications are extensive and span a wide range of fields, from Carbon Fibre Reinforced Composites (CFRC) used in the aerospace, automotive and defence industries, to carbon electrodes and semiconductors used in the energy and electronics sectors. Their unique chemical and physical properties are a direct result of their complex microstructures which vary with the method of production, i.e. heat-treatment temperature, heating rate and chemical composition of the organic precursor from which they are formed. Using several advanced x-ray characterisation and
electron microscopy techniques at the UK’s national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source (DLS), we are determining the structure of a series of disordered, porous carbons produced from pyrolysis of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins, followed by heat-treatment over a temperature range from 600 to 2800 °C. The experimental results from Raman spectroscopy, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) provide detailed information about the local structure and chemical bonding between carbon atoms. At temperatures exceeding 1200°C, there is a noticeable ordering of the atomic structure into coherently scattering nanodomains. With increasing
heat-treatment temperature (HTT), sp2 bonded, graphene-like layers extend in directions parallel (La) and perpendicular (Lc) to the plane; La reaches ~70 Å when heated to 2800 °C, with a maximum stack height of Lc ~20 Å, consisting of 6 layers. However, even at the highest HTT of 2800 °C, the atomic structure cannot be reorganised into crystalline graphite; the calculated interlayer distance d(002) remains at 3.45 Å (d(002) for crystalline graphite is 3.35 Å) and the long-range disorder is preserved. It is anticipated that future analysis of data collected from Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), ptychography and Coherent Diffraction Imaging (CDI) experiments, in combination with theoretical modelling, will provide further insight into the nanoporosity and micro-structural evolution of these materials as a function of HTT.

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In Categories: 1.Events, 1.HiSST 2025, Materials and Structures for vehicle and all subsystems
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