JP2008169494A - Method for producing carbonized fabric and carbonized fabric obtained thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a carbonized fabric by which the carbonized fabric having excellent electroconductive characteristics, heat resistance, electromagnetic wave absorbency etc., and excellent mechanical strength and flexibility is relatively easily and economically be produced. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing the carbonized fabric uses a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven and knitted fabric composed of cellulosic fiber yarns as a raw material fiber fabric, heats and carbonizes the raw material fiber fabric, and produces the carbonized fiber fabric. The method includes restraining and holding the raw material fiber fabric with a moisture content less than 25% in a dry state from either one of the longitudinal or the transverse direction of the fabric, directly heating up the fabric in an oxidizing atmosphere under an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or greater at 50-200°C/h to a temperature region of 250-450°C, then continuously heating up the fabric in a nonoxidizing atmosphere under an oxygen partial pressure less than 50 mmHg to a final heating temperature region of 1,000-1,600°C at a heating rate of 50-200°C/h and subjecting the fabric to heating where the fabric is held at the final heating temperature for a prescribed time in a heating furnace. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a carbonized fabric and a carbonized fabric obtained thereby. More specifically, the present invention is easy to handle because it is excellent in mechanical strength, flexibility, chemical resistance, washing resistance, etc., and is excellent in conductive properties, heat resistance, odor adsorption, etc. The present invention relates to a method for producing an applicable carbonized fabric with a high yield and economically using a cellulosic fiber fabric as a raw material.

  Carbon fiber has a higher specific modulus and strength than other fibers, and is chemically and thermally stable, so it has traditionally been used as a material for various structural composites and its electrical properties. It is widely used as a material for composite materials of various industrial materials, taking advantage of its excellent features such as features, vibration damping, and X-ray permeability.

  Most of the carbon fibers used in such a structural composite material are PAN-based products manufactured using polyacrylonitrile-based fibers as raw materials. PAN-based carbon fiber is made from organic synthetic fiber that has already been made high in molecular weight, so the strength and elongation of the raw material fiber itself are sufficient, and mechanical handling in the manufacturing process is easy. It contains a lot of nitrogen and has a large weight loss during the carbonization process. Pitch-type products manufactured using pitches as raw materials have also been put into practical use. Pitch-based carbon fibers are generally characterized by higher elastic modulus, thermal conductivity, and conductivity than PAN-based fibers, and are advantageous in terms of raw material costs. It is manifested in the carbonization process, and in the state of pitch fiber and infusible fiber up to that point, the mechanical strength is very small and very brittle, so it is difficult to handle in the manufacturing process and advanced technology Therefore, the manufacturing cost is high.

  Further, as is well known, both PAN-based and pitch-based carbon fibers have high rigidity, but have a problem that they are small in elongation at break and weak in refraction. Furthermore, since both PAN-based and pitch-based carbon fibers are generally manufactured in the form of very thin filaments or tows, there is a difficulty in handling when used for various applications. For this reason, it is desirable that these carbon fibers be processed and provided in the form of a fabric or a sheet. However, as described above, the carbon fiber has characteristics such as low elongation at break and weakness to refraction, so However, it is difficult to perform spinning and weaving and knitting, and the present state is that the prepreg is formed by aligning carbon fibers in one direction and impregnating them with various resins to stabilize the structure. The prepreg thus obtained has a disadvantage that it has a relatively simple structure and is coarse in density, and has a low curved surface following property during molding, or yarn bundle misalignment tends to occur during curved surface molding. Yes. In addition, due to the influence of the impregnating resin, various functionalities of the carbon fiber are reduced, for example, the adhesiveness with the matrix in the case of a composite structure material, the electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity are reduced, and the harmful substances during combustion Occurrence of problems such as the occurrence of carbon dioxide, the inherent characteristics of carbon fiber could not be fully utilized, limiting the application.

  By the way, in addition to the PAN-type and pitch-type carbon fibers that have been widely put into practical use as described above, attempts have been made to obtain carbonized fibers using various organic polymers as raw materials. For example, one method is to obtain carbonized fibers from cellulosic fibers centered on rayon.

  In the case of cellulosic fibers, unlike in the case of PAN and pitch systems, surface carbonization is not caused by melting during heating during carbonization treatment, so naturally the manufacturing process must be different. It is said.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, cellulosic fibers such as viscose rayon are heated in a temperature range of 300 ° F. (about 146 ° C.) to 500 ° F. (about 260 ° C.) under an inert atmosphere, and 500 ° F. It is disclosed that semiconducting carbonized fibers having good intrinsic fiber density and good tensile strength can be obtained by heating for a predetermined time until partial polymerization and partial carbonization.

  In Patent Document 2, the rayon fiber is heated at a slow temperature increase rate of about 10 ° C./hour to about 50 ° C./hour from 100 ° C. to 450 ° C., and then increased to about 900 ° C./hour or more up to 900 ° C. It is disclosed to produce cloth-like flexible fibrous graphite by heating at about 3000 ° C. at a high rate until further substantial graphitization occurs.

  In the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, the temperature is slowly raised in an inert atmosphere while flowing nitrogen gas to reliably perform the decomposition reaction of cellulose. This decomposition reaction is an exothermic reaction. For this reason, heat is likely to be accumulated in the raw fiber, so that a so-called runaway reaction is likely to occur. Therefore, in order to prevent this, the treatment takes a very long time under an inert atmosphere. In the carbonization firing process, as the thermal decomposition progresses, a large structural change is caused in the fiber, and the fiber shrinks. However, a large stress accompanying the shrinkage concentrates on the weak structure, and during the carbonization firing. Damage and destruction occurred in weak structural parts, and as a result, the mechanical properties of the obtained carbonized fiber were deteriorated. Furthermore, since it is necessary to continue flowing inert gas, such as nitrogen gas, for a long time with the consumption of energy by heating for a long time, the manufacturing cost was increased.

  Furthermore, in patent document 3, after immersing a cellulosic fiber cloth in acid solutions, such as phosphoric acid, and drying and removing a solvent, it is heated at about 100-350 degreeC in oxidizing atmosphere, A cellulosic substance Is partially and selectively decomposed to obtain a permanently dehydrated heat-treated material, which is then carbonized by heating the material to a carbonization temperature while preventing oxidation, and further converting the carbonized material to nitrogen A technique for heating to a graphite in an electric furnace purified with gas is disclosed.

  The technique described in Patent Document 3 contains about 5 to 20% of moisture in which the cellulosic fibers are balanced with atmospheric humidity, and this moisture is dehydrated by heating, but is very short in cooling. Moisture is reabsorbed over time, and the absorbed moisture promotes the formation of tar-like surface deposits on the individual filaments of the fiber material and interferes with the production of flexible carbonaceous fiber material, The tar-like precipitates of the material decompose in further pyrolysis, which results in individual filaments sticking to other filaments, especially those in cross relationship, resulting in a brittle and weak product. Therefore, as described above, this is to solve this problem by first obtaining a completely dehydrated cellulosic fiber.

  In addition to the method of changing the structure by dehydration using an acid such as phosphoric acid as shown in Patent Document 3, a method using a metal chloride, or as shown in Patent Document 4, bromide such as magnesium bromide is used. There is also known a method in which a metal compound and a nitrogen compound such as thiourea and ammonium sulfate are used to make the flame retardant by heating in an inert atmosphere.

  However, a method of pretreating cellulosic fibers using a chemical agent such as an acid solution as shown in Patent Document 3 or a metal bromide or metal chloride as shown in Patent Document 4 is cellulose. Although it is possible to shorten the heating time required for incombustibility of the fiber, it becomes a treatment in a heterogeneous fiber called a solid phase fiber body, so the reactivity of the molecule on the fiber surface and the molecule on the inside is different, In extreme cases, the drug cannot reach the interior of the solid and the molecules inside cannot react at all. For this reason, the modification has a non-uniform distribution in each part of the fiber, and the resulting carbonized fiber also has non-uniform characteristics in each part of the fiber.

  Furthermore, exposure of the cellulosic fiber to an acid solution as shown in Patent Document 3 may decrease the strength of the raw material fiber and the resulting strength of the carbonized fiber. It was. Further, when a metal chloride or a metal bromide as shown in Patent Document 4 is used to make a flame retardant by halogen substitution, a toxic gas may be generated during the carbonization treatment.

  It is also known to perform carbonization treatment after impregnating raw material fibers with a silicon compound in order to increase the mechanical strength of cellulosic carbon fibers (see, for example, Patent Documents 5 to 7).

  That is, cellulosic raw material fibers are immersed in an organic solvent solution of an organosilicon compound such as organopolysiloxane, then heated at 120 to 300 ° C. for 0.4 to 2 hours, and then at 18 to 30 ° C. at 0.050 to 0.00. Cool for 2 hours, reheat at the deformation degree of 0 to -10% under the above conditions, heat to 180 to 600 ° C with a degree of deformation of 25 to + 30% in the section of 300 to 400 ° C and carbonize, and -10 to +25 % Graphitization at 900-2800 ° C. with a degree of deformation (Patent Document 5), silicon-containing hydrous cellulose fibers are further immersed in an antipyrine solution, heat-treated in air at 100-150 ° C., and further inert gas Carbonization is performed at a moderate temperature increase from 150 ° C. to 300 to 600 ° C. under a vacuum pressure of 300 to 900 Pa in the atmosphere, and then 1000 to 2 in an inert gas atmosphere. A method of heat-treating at 00 ° C. (Patent Document 6), and cellulosic raw material fibers are immersed in an organic solvent solution of an organosilicon compound, and a temperature rising rate of 10 ° C./min to 60 ° C./min is 250 ° C. to 350 ° C. The initial stage to make the temperature range up to 2 ° C./min to 10 ° C./min. The intermediate stage to make the temperature range from 350 ° C. to 500 ° C. at the temperature raising rate of 2 ° C./min. There is known a method of performing a heat treatment (Patent Document 7) including a final stage of raising the temperature to 500 ° C. to 750 ° C. (after that, it can be subjected to a high temperature heat treatment in the range of 1000 ° C. to 2800 ° C.).

  Although the carbonized fiber obtained by impregnating the silicon compound in this way is certainly desired to improve its mechanical strength, it does not have a satisfactory level in terms of the flexibility of the fiber. In addition, since silicon remains in the carbonized fiber, a very good one cannot be expected from the viewpoint of the thermal, electrical or chemical properties of the fiber.

  By the way, as the carbonization treatment of the cellulosic fiber, conventionally, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 6, the cellulosic fiber yarn is put in a heating furnace in a “skein” state, and is performed in a batch system, Alternatively, a method is known in which a fiber yarn is passed through a roller disposed in a heating furnace while being routed and is continuously processed. As in the case of carbon fibers, it is very difficult.

  Attempts have also been made to obtain a carbonized fiber fabric by using a cellulosic fiber fabric as a raw material and carbonizing it as it is. For example, in the example of Patent Document 8, the raw material fabric after the phosphoric acid solution treatment is sandwiched between two graphite plates, buried in packing coke, and placed in a non-oxidizing atmosphere over a period of 1 week at 900 ° C. It is shown to be carbonized. Patent Document 7 also discloses a method of continuously treating a raw fabric using a continuous furnace having a plurality of predetermined temperature zones.

  However, the method of carbonizing the raw fiber fabric shown in Patent Document 8 has a very long time and is inefficient, and the obtained carbonized fiber is similar to the techniques shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2. The properties of the fabric were not sufficient. Furthermore, since a strong pressing force is constantly applied to the entire raw material fabric surface during production, the fabric shrinkage during carbonization cannot be followed well, and the fabric may be partially damaged. Further, the method disclosed in Patent Document 7 is a pretreatment for impregnating a silicon compound as described above, and although an improvement in mechanical strength is desired, a satisfactory level in terms of fiber flexibility. In addition, since silicon remains in the carbonized fiber, problems remain in terms of the thermal, electrical, and chemical properties of the fiber. Furthermore, the method using a continuous furnace requires a very large manufacturing apparatus, and in order to heat with a predetermined temperature rising pattern, a number of transport rolls, turning rolls, etc. are arranged in a specific temperature zone. , It is necessary to draw the raw material fabric between them, and to pull out the fabric in the middle of the carbonization process. Therefore, when the fabric is broken, it is necessary to interrupt the operation completely, so that the operation is inefficient and the production yield is also poor. It was a thing.

Thus, conventionally, the production of carbonized fiber fabrics using cellulosic fibers as a raw material has a low production efficiency, and the carbonized fiber fabrics obtained have not been obtained with sufficient characteristics. Met.
US Pat. No. 3,053,775 US Pat. No. 3,107,152 U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,315 JP 58-13722 A Russian Patent No. 2045472 Russian Patent No. 2047674 US Pat. No. 6,967,014 International Publication WO00 / 49213

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a carbonized fabric capable of producing a carbonized fabric excellent in mechanical strength and flexibility relatively easily and economically. The present invention is also easy to handle because of its excellent mechanical strength, flexibility, chemical resistance, washing resistance, etc., and has electromagnetic wave absorbing ability, electrical characteristics or dielectric characteristics, heat resistance, odor adsorbability, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carbonized fabric that can be suitably applied to various uses because of its superiority, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a method for producing a carbonized fiber fabric by using a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven / knitted fabric made of cellulosic fiber yarns as a raw material fiber fabric, which is heated and carbonized. A raw material fiber fabric in a dry state with a rate of less than 25% is restrained and held from either one of the longitudinal or lateral directions of the fabric, and in an oxidizing atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or more as it is in a heating furnace. The temperature is raised to a temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. at 50 to 200 ° C./hour, and thereafter, a non-oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg is set to 50 to 200 ° C./hour to a final heating temperature range of 1000 to 1600 ° C. A method for producing a carbonized fabric, wherein the temperature is continuously raised at a rate of temperature rise and subjected to heating that is maintained for a predetermined time at a final heating temperature.

  In the method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention, it is preferable that the total heating and holding time from the start of heating to the end of heating at the final temperature is 10 to 50 hours.

  In the method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention, it is preferable that a tension due to shrinkage is applied to the fabric in the restraining direction in a temperature range of 250 to 1600 ° C.

  In the method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention, the substitution from the oxidizing atmosphere to the non-oxidizing atmosphere is performed by using the outgas generated by the thermal decomposition of the heated raw fiber fabric, It is desirable that the oxygen-containing gas be expelled from the atmosphere.

  The method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention also shows a method for producing a carbonized fabric in which the raw fiber fabrics are arranged in a laminated state in a heating furnace.

  The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is also characterized in that a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven / knitted fabric made of cellulosic fiber yarns is used as a raw fiber fabric, and the fabric is stretched in a dry state with a moisture content of less than 25%. Alternatively, it is restrained and held from any one of the lateral directions, and as it is, in a heating furnace, the temperature is increased to 50 to 200 ° C./hour up to a temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or more. Then, the temperature is continuously raised to a final heating temperature range of 1000 to 1600 ° C. at a heating rate of 50 to 200 ° C./hour as a non-oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg, and the final heating temperature is reached. The carbonized fabric obtained by the method for producing a carbonized fabric, which is subjected to heating for a predetermined time.

  In the present invention, the carbonized fabric has a volume resistivity of 0.01 to 0.6 Ωcm in the plane direction, and the ratio between the stiffness of the carbonized fabric measured by a cantilever soft tester and the stiffness of the raw fiber fabric. The carbonized fabric is characterized in that (the bending resistance of the carbonized fabric / the bending resistance of the raw fiber fabric) is 1.2 to 0.8.

  In the method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention, a pre-treatment using a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven / knitted fabric made of cellulosic fiber yarn as a raw material, and using an acid solution, a halide, a silicon compound or the like as the raw material fabric. The carbonized fiber fabric is obtained by a relatively simple treatment process in which the temperature is continuously increased while being introduced into a heating furnace without any treatment and the atmosphere for heat treatment is changed from an oxidizing atmosphere to a non-oxidizing atmosphere. Therefore, the manufacturing method is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost. Moreover, in the manufacturing method of the carbonized fabric of this invention, temperature rising to the said 250-450 degreeC temperature range and subsequent temperature rising to 1000-1600 degreeC final heating temperature area | region are 50-200 degreeC / hour, respectively. Since it is performed at a constant speed, the heat control in the manufacturing process is simple and a product can be obtained in a short time. Further, in the production method of the present invention, since the raw material fabric is constrained from one of the vertical and horizontal directions and is subjected to heat treatment, the thermal decomposition or carbonization of the cellulosic fibers proceeds and shrinks. In the temperature range of 250 to 1600 ° C., the tensile strength is applied to the fabric in the restraining direction, and the mechanical strength and flexibility of the resulting carbonized fiber fabric is obtained. Will increase.

  Further, since the carbonized fabric of the present invention can be prepared by the production method as described above, it can be provided at a very low cost. In addition, the carbonized fiber fabric according to the present invention thus obtained is In addition to excellent mechanical strength and flexibility, as well as excellent chemical resistance and washing strength, it has excellent handling properties, as well as good conductivity, thermal conductivity, electromagnetic wave absorption, and odor adsorption. It can be suitably used for various applications. In particular, as obtained in the present invention, the carbonized product obtained at the final heating temperature of 1000 to 1600 ° C. can be produced at a very low power if an electrode is connected to the end and an electric current is passed. The entire system is energized and heat is easily generated, and when the current is cut off, the temperature drops rapidly, and the ultimate temperature changes depending on the applied voltage. In addition, since the far-infrared radiation is large and the heat resistance is very high, it can be expected to be suitably used for heating elements such as planar heating elements.

  Although the detailed mechanism is not clear, as described above, the carbonized fiber fabric according to the present invention exhibits an excellent electrothermal effect because the carbonized fiber fabric takes over the twisted yarn or woven / knitted structure in the raw fiber fabric. This is probably because carbon is distributed with multiple orientations and macro and micro electric circuits are formed in the tissue.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

  In the present invention, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven / knitted fabric made of cellulosic fiber yarn is used as a raw material.

  Cellulose fibers used as starting materials of the present invention include cotton, hemp (including various types such as linen hemp, ramie hemp, manila hemp, sisal hemp, jute hemp, kenaf, hemp, etc.), silk, others, bamboo, kozo Plant or animal natural cellulose fibers such as honey or honey may also be used, or regenerated or semi-synthetic cellulose fibers such as rayon fibers such as viscose rayon and copper ammonia rayon, and acetate fibers such as bisacetate and triacetate.

  One preferred starting material is cotton. Cotton fiber is obtained by cultivating cotton, which is a plant of the mallow family, and collecting long fluff (lint) formed by extending ovule epidermal cells after flowering. Cotton fiber is mainly composed of cellulose (fibrin) in which glucose is linked in a chain, and this fiber is the purest cellulose obtained in nature (88 to 96% when dried). The cross section of the cotton fiber is hollow and circular when it is raw, but it becomes flat when dried, thereby producing a natural twist. Cotton is different in form from regenerated cellulose, which is a raw material of conventional carbon fiber, and has a three-dimensional laminated structure. Carbonized fiber obtained by carbonizing this has the characteristics of cotton, namely cotton. The double cellulose layer, which is a structural characteristic of the fiber, remains, and becomes a material rich in flexibility, strength, and adsorptivity.

  Cotton cellulose fibers have a micellar structure, consisting of crystalline parts with a certain arrangement of cellulose molecules and non-crystalline parts that are irregularly assembled, and the crystalline parts are involved in bonding with each other and are responsible for bonding between fibers. The strength and elasticity specific to cotton fibers are determined by the mixture of crystalline and non-crystalline parts. Cotton fiber is generally twisted, but consists of three layers: a cuticle layer (made of wax, etc.), a cellulose first layer, and a cellulose second layer. The cellulose in the first layer is all crystallized, and crystals and non-crystals are mixed in the second layer. In the center, there is a hollow part called lumen with a cross-sectional area ratio of 3-4%. When carbonized, the cuticle layer burns and the cellulose layer is exposed. A bundle of fibers clearly appears on the surface of the carbonized cotton, and the cracker layer is completely decomposed and removed. Carbonized cellulose is aligned in the fiber direction and has a rope-like structure. There are some gaps in each fiber bundle, and these gaps are considered to be spatially connected to the carbonized cellulose in the lower layer. The reason for the high rate of adsorptivity is probably due to the structural features in which crystalline and non-crystalline parts in the fiber are mixed, coordination between the fibers, and the like. Thus, it is considered that the natural twist of cotton is maintained as it is when carbonized fibers are produced, and the flexibility, ease of processing, and strength are maintained as they are.

  Moreover, rayon fiber can be mentioned as a preferable starting material for producing carbonized fiber excellent in mechanical strength and the like.

  The weaving and knitting methods of the raw fabric are not particularly limited. For example, weaving methods such as plain weaving, twill weaving and satin weaving, weaving methods such as single knitting and double knitting by weft knitting, vertical knitting, etc. Alternatively, various types such as a combination thereof can be used. Among them, the knitted fabric is obtained from the viewpoint of the good mechanical strength and flexibility of the obtained carbonized fabric, and the multidirectional orientation of the fibers. It is desirable that

  Further, the yarn constituting the raw fabric may be a single fiber yarn or a twisted yarn of a plurality of fibers, but the fact that it is a twisted yarn has good mechanical strength of the resulting carbonized fabric. And desirable in terms of flexibility and multidirectional orientation of fibers.

  Furthermore, the thickness of the yarn depends on the type of fiber used and is not particularly limited. For example, in the case of cotton yarn, the count is about 10 to 100, and in the case of long fibers such as rayon fiber, It is desirable to be about 5000 to 10000 denier.

  Moreover, even if it is the thickness of a raw material fabric, it is influenced by the kind of fiber to be used, and it is not specifically limited, For example, in the case of a cotton fabric, thickness is 0.05-50 mm, Preferably, 0.05- It is desirable that it is about 30 mm.

  In addition, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, in order to impart conductivity to the carbonized fiber, it is heated to a relatively high temperature, so that the final heating temperature is lower as in electromagnetic wave absorption applications and adsorption applications as described later. Compared to the case, it is desirable to use a relatively large yarn thickness, fabric thickness and the like constituting the raw material fabric to be used.

  In the production method of the present invention, such a raw material fabric is made of a conventionally known acid solution such as phosphoric acid, organosilicon compounds such as organopolysiloxane, halides such as magnesium bromide, nitrogen such as thiourea and ammonium sulfate. Without any pretreatment for the purpose of flame retardancy using a compound or the like, it can be directly subjected to a heating carbonization treatment step in a dry state (moisture content of less than 25%). In addition, it is possible to perform a water washing and a drying process for the purpose of removing the adhering foreign material etc. as needed.

  In the production method of the present invention, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven / knitted fabric made of such cellulose fiber yarns is inserted into a temperature-controllable heating furnace in a dry state, and initially an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or more. More preferably, in an oxidizing atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure of 100 to 150 mmHg, the temperature is raised to a temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C., and then an oxygen partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg, more preferably an oxygen partial pressure of less than 10 mmHg. The carbonized fiber fabric is manufactured by performing a heat treatment in which the temperature is continuously increased to a final heating temperature range of 1000 to 1600 ° C. and held at the final heating temperature for a predetermined time.

  Here, in this invention, the said raw fiber fabric is inserted in a heating furnace in the state restrained and hold | maintained from either the vertical or horizontal direction.

  As the thermal decomposition or carbonization of the cellulosic fibers proceeds, the fabric shrinks. In the present invention, the raw fabric is held in a restrained state from either the vertical or horizontal direction as described above. Therefore, the fabric is not particularly limited in tension, depending on the degree of contraction. Specifically, for example, in the temperature range of 250 to 1600 ° C, A tension of about 0.01 N to 10.0 N, more preferably 0.1 N to 5.0 N due to shrinkage is stably applied to the fabric. For this reason, it is considered that the orientation of the carbon atoms proceeds in the carbonized fiber, and the obtained carbonized fabric has good mechanical strength and good flexibility.

  In the present invention, “restraining” the raw material fabric from either one of the vertical and horizontal directions does not completely fix both ends, and is appropriate as described above depending on the degree of contraction of the fabric. This means that the tension is maintained.

  The heating furnace is not particularly limited as long as the temperature can be controlled. For example, an electric heating furnace, a gas furnace, a coke furnace, or the like can be used.

  In general, cellulosic fibers contain about 5 to 20% of water that equilibrates with humidity in the atmosphere. This water is dehydrated by heating, but the water is reabsorbed in a very short time for cooling. And the absorbed moisture promotes the formation of tar-like surface deposits on the individual filaments of the fiber material and interferes with the production of flexible carbonaceous fiber materials, which tar deposits Decomposing in further pyrolysis, resulting in individual filaments sticking to other filaments, especially those in cross relationship, resulting in a brittle and weak product. In the present invention, by first heating to a temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or more, the molecular chain structure of cellulose is changed and dehydrated. It forms a flexible fiber structure.

  In the method for producing a carbonized fabric of the present invention, the temperature raising condition up to the temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. is 50 to 200 ° C./hour, more preferably 80 to 150 ° C./hour. Cellulosic fibers generally start pyrolysis at a temperature of about 240 to 250 ° C., and this temperature range includes the temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere at 50 to 200 ° C./hour. By heating under temperature rising conditions, the molecular chain structure of cellulose is changed and dehydrated stably, reliably and rapidly.

  In order to prevent the combustion of the fabric due to the flammable gas generated by the thermal decomposition of the cellulosic fibers and the exothermic reaction during the thermal decomposition, and the carbonization cannot be controlled, the oxidation is performed when this temperature range is reached. The atmosphere is replaced with a non-oxidizing atmosphere.

  Switching from an oxidizing atmosphere to a non-oxidizing atmosphere during production can be performed by supplying an inert gas from the outside to the atmosphere in the heating furnace, but in a temperature range of about 250 ° C. or higher. It is desirable that the oxygen content in the atmosphere be expelled out of the heating furnace system by the outgas generated by the thermal decomposition of the fiber. In this case, it is desirable that the inside of the heating furnace has a small excess space so that the atmosphere is quickly and sufficiently replaced by the decomposition gas generated from the raw fiber fabric.

  Although the final heating temperature varies depending on the characteristics of the carbonized fiber to be obtained, in the present invention, in order to obtain a carbonized fiber fabric exhibiting excellent electrical conductivity and exhibiting excellent electrothermal characteristics, 1000 to 1600 is obtained. It is set as the temperature of 1200 degreeC, More preferably, it is the temperature of 1200-1400 degreeC.

  In addition, the heating up to the final heating temperature by switching from the temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. to the non-oxidizing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg is performed stably and uniformly, and the carbonization proceeds sufficiently. It is preferable to carry out the heating at a rate of temperature increase of 50 to 200 ° C./hour, more preferably 80 to 150 ° C./hour so as to achieve the desired alignment.

  The holding time at the final temperature is not particularly limited, but is, for example, about 10 to 50 hours, preferably 10 to 30 hours, and more preferably about 12 to 20 hours.

  In the present invention, the carbonized fabric having the desired characteristics can be obtained in a relatively short time by heating at such a predetermined temperature increase rate.

  In the present invention, the cooling conditions after performing the desired heat treatment up to the final temperature are not particularly limited, but may be natural cooling, for example, about −10 to −100 ° C./hour, More preferably, the temperature lowering condition is about −20 to −60 ° C./hour. Thereafter, the obtained carbonized fiber fabric can be made into a product by performing a shaping process such as end cutting, if necessary.

  Further, when the carbonized fiber fabric produced according to the present invention is further heated at a temperature of 1600 ° C. to 3000 ° C., graphitization of the resulting carbon fiber proceeds, and the rigidity and conductivity of the resulting fiber increase. Carbon fiber fabric. This graphitization treatment can be performed by heating to the final heating temperature and then continuously raising the temperature, or after cooling once.

  Furthermore, in preferable embodiment of this invention, the raw material fiber fabric shall be arrange | positioned in the state laminated | stacked in the heating furnace. This is because, when arranged in such a laminated state, there is almost no gap between each layer of each fiber fabric, and as a result, the space surrounding each layer can be made very narrow. As described above, when replacing the oxidizing atmosphere with the non-oxidizing atmosphere in the middle of the heating process, oxygen can be easily expelled from the surrounding space by the outgas generated from the fabric, and once it has been expelled one after another. This is because it is almost impossible for the oxygen-containing gas to enter due to the generated gas, and a good non-oxidizing atmosphere can be formed around the fabric. In addition, since the layers face each other in this manner, the fabric is prevented from coming into direct contact with a good heat conductor such as a heat transfer body or a heat medium in a heating furnace, and the fabric is rapidly heated and burned. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects such as Furthermore, by arranging and stacking the raw fiber fabrics in this way, a large amount of processing can be performed at once, and the production efficiency is improved. The number of laminated layers is not particularly limited and depends on the thickness of the raw fiber fabric. For example, it is 2 to 5000 layers, preferably 10 to 1000 layers, more preferably about 100 to 500 layers. It can be.

  When the raw fiber fabric is laminated and carbonized, the carbonized fibers are bonded to each other by the influence of tar-like precipitates generated during thermal decomposition, and the carbonized fibers are burnt and fixed to each other. Those skilled in the art will think that it would be a lump that cannot be delaminated after processing, but when the processing is performed under the expected conditions as found above by the present inventors, Such a phenomenon does not occur, and after the carbonization treatment, the respective layers can be separated, and the carbonized fabric state can be produced in a state in which the state of the raw fiber fabric is substantially left as it is.

  The carbonized fiber fabric according to the present invention thus obtained has sufficient mechanical strength, has flexibility comparable to that of the raw material fabric, and is woven using carbon fiber. Rather than using a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven knitted fabric as a starting material before carbonization firing, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a woven knitted fabric made of cellulosic fibers is used as a starting material. Since the yarn itself is soft and has a free direction, the fibers are not aligned in the surface direction compared to those woven with rigid carbon fiber, and the surface direction is sufficient to blend in the thickness direction. Not only in the thickness direction, but also excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, compressive strength and the like are obtained.

  The carbonized fabric has a volume resistivity in the plane direction of 0.01 to 0.6 Ωcm, more preferably 0.1 to 0.5 Ωcm, still more preferably 0.3 to 0.5 Ωcm, and a tensile strength of 1.5 N or more, more preferably. Is a ratio between the bending resistance of the carbonized fabric and the bending resistance of the raw fiber fabric measured by a cantilever softness tester at 2.0 N or more (the bending resistance of the carbonized fabric / the bending resistance of the raw fiber fabric) Is 1.2 to 0.8, more preferably 1.1 to 0.9. Of course, the tensile strength is preferably a high value, and also varies depending on the thickness of the fabric, etc., so the upper limit value is not particularly limited. Those up to strength can be obtained relatively easily.

Although not particularly limited, the carbonized fiber fabric of the present invention typically has a thickness of 0.001 to 30 mm and a mass per unit area of 20 to 200 g / m ^2. It is desirable from the viewpoint of its characteristics and handleability.

Other characteristics include, but are not particularly limited to, for example, a combustion start temperature in air of 600 ° C. or higher, a D band (1350 cm ⁻¹ ) and a G band (1590 cm ⁻ ) measured by Raman spectroscopy. ¹ ) The ratio (D / G) is 1.4 to 2.0.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention concretely, this invention is not limited to these Examples. In addition, it measured on condition as follows as a measuring method of the characteristic as described in a following example and a comparative example.

<Thickness, mass per unit area>
The thickness was measured with a micrometer.

  The mass per unit area was measured according to JIS L 1018.

<Tensile strength>
Measured according to JIS L 1018 cut slip method. The measurement conditions were a tensile speed of 20 cm / min, a gripping interval of 20 cm, a sample width of 5 cm, and a tester: constant speed extension type.

<Bending softness>
In accordance with JIS L1018 A method (45 ° cantilever method), measurement was performed with a cantilever soft tester (model: CAN-45).

<Surface direction conductivity>
Using the four-probe type low resistivity meter (Loresta GP, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical), the resistance (Ω) at the surface of the obtained test piece was measured, and the volume resistivity (Ω · cm) was measured using the same resistance meter. The average value was calculated.

<Raman spectroscopy>
Using a LabRam800 manufactured by Horiba Jobin Yvon, measurement was performed using a wavelength of 514 nm of an argon laser.

<TG combustion temperature>
Using TG-DTA manufactured by Mac Science, the temperature was increased at a rate of 10 ° C./min while circulating air at a flow rate of 0.1 liter / min, and the combustion behavior was measured. During combustion, TG indicates a decrease in weight, and DTA indicates an exothermic peak. Therefore, the top position of the exothermic peak was defined as the combustion start temperature.

[Example 1]
(Production conditions)
A carbonized fiber fabric was prepared under the following conditions.

As a raw material, a cotton knit (double knit, manufactured by Kimura Textile Co., Ltd.) having a width of 115 mm and a thickness of 6 mm was used. In addition, the bending resistance measured by the cantilever softness tester of the cotton knit was a wale direction: 35 mm and a course direction: 22 mm. 300 layers of this cotton knit were laminated at a predetermined length, placed in a heating furnace, and heated under the following heating conditions to produce a carbonized fiber fabric.
Heating conditions: Room temperature (15 ° C ± 20 ° C) to 1200 ° C Temperature rising rate 100 ° C / hour
Total heating and holding time 15 hours
Cooling: Natural cooling In addition, the oxidizing atmosphere, which had an oxygen partial pressure of about 150 mmHg immediately after the start of heating, was oxygenated by the influence of the outgas generated by the thermal decomposition of the fiber in a temperature range of about 270 ° C to 300 ° C. A non-oxidizing atmosphere with a partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg was obtained, and thereafter this non-oxidizing atmosphere was maintained until the end of heating.

(result)
The surface property of the obtained carbonized fiber fabric was observed using an electron microscope. The obtained results are shown in FIG. 1A (magnification 50 times), FIG. 1B (magnification 3000 times), and FIG. 1C (magnification 10000 times).

Moreover, the physical property of the obtained carbonized fiber fabric was as follows.
Volume resistivity: 0.35 Ωcm
Tensile strength: 7.21N in the wale direction, 3.59N in the course direction
Stiffness measured by cantilever softness tester: 35mm in the wale direction, 25mm in the course direction
Thickness: 4mm
Mass per unit area: 79.1 g / m ²
Combustion start temperature in air: 656 ° C
D / G ratio: 1.5
FIG. 2 shows a TG-DTA chart for determining the combustion start temperature in air, and FIG. 3 shows a Raman spectrum chart for determining the D / G ratio.

[Application Example 1]
A sample piece (length 300 mm × width 300 mm) was cut out from the carbonized fiber cloth obtained in Example 1, and a copper plate having a width of 30 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm was heat-resistant over the entire length of both ends in the width direction of the sample piece. The heater unit was produced by attaching to one side using an adhesive and joining an electric wire to this copper plate.

  When this heater unit was energized, the entire sample piece generated heat uniformly.

Under conditions of a voltage of 70 V and a current of 6 A, 230 ° C. ± 10 ° C. was reached in about 2 minutes, and thereafter the temperature was maintained. When the current supply was stopped, the temperature dropped to room temperature (20 ° C.) in 30 seconds.
Similarly, under conditions of a voltage of 20 V and a current of 5 A, the temperature reached 100 ° C. ± 5 ° C. in about 1 minute, and thereafter maintained that temperature. When the current supply was stopped, the temperature dropped to room temperature (20 ° C.) in 17 seconds.

  Even if the carbon fiber itself is repeatedly held at such a high temperature for a long period of time, there is no particular change in the carbon fiber itself, and the same stable electrothermal characteristics are exhibited even after a long period of time. There were no problems such as chattering in the unit.

AC is an electron micrograph of the carbonized fiber cloth obtained in the Example. These are the TG-DTA charts of the carbonized fiber cloth obtained in the examples. These are the Raman spectrum charts of the carbonized fiber cloth obtained in the Example.

Claims (7)

A method of producing a carbonized fiber fabric by using a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a knitted knitted fabric made of cellulosic fiber yarn as a raw fiber fabric, which is heated and carbonized.
A raw material fiber fabric in a dry state with a moisture content of less than 25% is constrained and held from either the vertical or horizontal direction of the fabric, and is left as it is in an oxidizing atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure of 50 mmHg or more. The temperature is raised to a temperature range of 250 to 450 ° C. at a rate of 50 to 200 ° C./hour, and then 50 to 200 ° C./hour to a final heating temperature range of 1000 to 1600 ° C. as a nonoxidizing atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure of less than 50 mmHg. A method for producing a carbonized fabric, characterized in that the temperature is continuously increased at a rate of temperature increase and subjected to heating that is maintained at a final heating temperature for a predetermined time.   The method for producing a carbonized fabric according to claim 1, wherein the total heating and holding time from the start of heating to the end of heating at the final temperature is 10 to 50 hours.   3. The method for producing a carbonized fabric according to claim 1, wherein in the temperature range of 250 to 1600 ° C., tension due to shrinkage is applied to the fabric in the restraining direction.   The replacement from the oxidizing atmosphere to the non-oxidizing atmosphere is performed by expelling the oxygen-containing gas from the surrounding atmosphere of the raw fiber cloth using the outgas generated by the thermal decomposition of the heated raw fiber cloth. The method for producing a carbonized fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The method for producing a carbonized fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the raw fiber fabrics are arranged in a stacked state in a heating furnace.   A carbonized fabric obtained by the production method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The carbonized fabric has a volume resistivity of 0.01 to 0.6 Ωcm in the plane direction, and the ratio of the stiffness of the carbonized fabric measured by a cantilever soft tester to the stiffness of the raw fiber fabric (carbonized fabric). The carbonized fabric according to claim 6, wherein the bending resistance / the bending resistance of the raw fiber fabric is 1.2 to 0.8.