Issue 39, 2020

Carbonization of single polyacrylonitrile chains in coordination nanospaces

Abstract

It has been over half a century since polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers were first developed. However, the mechanism of the carbonization reaction remains largely unknown. Structural evolution of PAN during the preoxidation reaction, a stabilization reaction, is one of the most complicated stages because many chemical reactions, including cyclization, dehydration, and cross-linking reactions, simultaneously take place. Here, we report the stabilization reaction of single PAN chains within the one-dimensional nanochannels of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to study an effect of interchain interactions on the stabilization process as well as the structure of the resulting ladder polymer (LP). The stabilization reaction of PAN within the MOFs could suppress the rapid generation of heat that initiates the self-catalyzed reaction and inevitably provokes many side-reactions and scission of PAN chains in the bulk state. Consequently, LP prepared within the MOFs had a more extended conjugated backbone than the bulk condition.

Graphical abstract: Carbonization of single polyacrylonitrile chains in coordination nanospaces

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
11 4 2020
Accepted
04 6 2020
First published
05 6 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2020,11, 10844-10849

Carbonization of single polyacrylonitrile chains in coordination nanospaces

X. Zhang, T. Kitao, D. Piga, R. Hongu, S. Bracco, A. Comotti, P. Sozzani and T. Uemura, Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 10844 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC02048F

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