Bromination of carbon fibers and carbon-carbon composites

Bulk chemical modification of carbon fibers and carbon-carbon composites was performed by bromination for the purposes of increasing the oxidation resistance and decreasing the electrical resistivity.;Two methods of bromination were used, namely exposure to Br;Bromination did not degrade the tensile properties of the Amoco Thornel P-100 fibers, as previously reported by others, but it decreased the tensile modulus by up to 17% for the du Pont E-130 fibers and the carbon-carbon composites that had been heat treated up to 2000;The oxidation rate measured at 25% burn-off at 650;Both purposes were achieved in Amoco Thornel P-100 pitch-based carbon fibers and in carbon-carbon composites that had been heat treated up to 2000;The activation energy for bromine desorption was found to increase with increasing degree of intercalate order and decrease with increasing degree of graphitization.