The surface topography of non-shear treated pitch and PAN carbon fibers as viewed by the STM

The atomic structure and roughness on the surface of a carbon fiber have a great effect on the degree of bonding of that fiber in a carbon fiber composite. Although there have been many studies on the bulk structure of these fibers, this is the first study dealing with the atomic surface structure of several carbon fibers. With the advent of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), it is now possible to study both the roughness and structure of these fibers on the atomic scale. Type II PAN based fibers were found to have a rougher surface than type II pitch-based fibers. Similar to what has been observed in the interior of pitch fibers, the percentage of graphitic structure on the surface increased with the degree of heat treatment and with the modulus of the fiber.