Synthetic fibers, high-performance carbon fiber

The principal classes of high performance fibers are derived from rigid-rod polymers, gel spun fibers, modified carbon fibers, synthetic vitreous fibers, and poly(phenyiene sulfide) fibers. 

Graphite is a relatively soft, black material that is naturally occurring. It is made synthetically via graphitization principally to produce graphite fibers for high performance RPs. It is a crystalline allotropic form of carbon. This allotropic structure exists as a substance, especially an element, in two or more physical states such as crystal and graphite. 

In this article, the preparation and properties of typical high performance fibers are discussed, then their applications are classified and detailed. The principal classes of high performance fibers are derived from rigid-rod polymers (qv), gel-spun fibers, modified carbon fibers (qv), carbon-nanotube composite fibers, ceramic fibers, and synthetic vitreous fibers. 

Synthetic cellulose yams were developed between 1880 and 1910, first from a nitrocellulose solution, and later as copper rayon and "viscose rayon . The cellulosics are often called half-synthetic because the raw material is a natural polymer. The most important fully synthetic yarns were developed between 1935 and 1942 - polyamides (PA66, PAG), polyester (PET), and acrylic yarns (PAN copolymers). Another half-century later, many high-performance fibers were introduced, for example aramid (PPTA), gel-spun polyethylene, and carbon fiber. 

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