GCSE CHEMISTRY - What are Carbon Fibres? - What are the Properties and Uses of Carbon Fibres? - How are Carbon Fibres Made?

What are Carbon Fibres?

What are the Properties of Carbon Fibres?

Carbon Fibres are very thin (see nanoparticles).
They are less than one hundredth of a millimetre in diameter.
They can be more than three times as strong as steel
but with less than one quarter of the density.

How are Carbon Fibres Made?

Carbon fibres are made by heating long polymer chains
containing carbon and other atoms until there is only carbon left.
The chains are heated where there is no oxygen
to prevent the carbon atoms reacting to form carbon dioxide.

What are the Uses of Carbon Fibres?

Carbon fibres are used to reinforce a large number of materials.
The materials are mainly polymers
called carbon fibre reinforced plastic.
The carbon fibres make the polymer stronger.

Carbon fibres are used to make
an increasingly large number of products
including aircraft, cars, boats, sports equipment
(fishing rods, tennis rackets, golf clubs) and bicycles.