Experimental study and modeling of swelling and bubble growth in carbon nanofiber filled mesophase pitch during carbonization

Graphite and all carbon bipolar plates show corrosion resistance in fuel cells and provide good electrical conductivity. These materials typically need to be individually machined, a time consuming and costly process. Mesophase pitch is used to manufacture carbon fibers and carbon-carbon composites. This material provides a good starting point for the production of a moldable, all carbon bipolar plate. However, processing of mesophase pitch to produce all carbon materials requires a time intensive oxidation step to prevent swelling during carbonization.;In this work, carbon nanofibers were used to reduce swelling in mesophase pitch. It was found that the increase in viscosity with the addition of carbon nanofibers was responsible for the reduction in swelling. The influence of the filler became apparent above the percolation threshold. At loadings below the percolation threshold, the swelling of the mesophase pitch was not reduced after carbonization. The swelling of the mesophase pitch at a given carbon nanofiber loading was also dependent on the length of the carbon nanofibers. Longer carbon nanofibers led to greater increases in the viscosity of the melt and thus led to greater reduction in swelling.;The final carbon product was evaluated for use as a low temperature fuel cell bipolar plate material. Constraining the mesophase pitch during carbonization led to a final product with strength and electrical conductivity comparable to current composite bipolar plate materials. The addition of micron size chopped glass fibers with a softening point near 850 °C and carbon nanofibers led to a final product with air permeability less than that of graphite.;A spherically symmetric, single bubble growth model was also developed. The model included temperature dependence, liquid to bubble mass transfer and reactions in the system. Results from simulations showed that that the increase in viscosity due to the addition of carbon nanofibers slows the growth of bubbles, but that the time scale of single bubble growth is much shorter than the time over which the foam grows. The single bubble growth model was deemed to be applicable to low loadings of carbon nanofiber, where the bubble size distribution in the final foam is narrow.