Pyrolysis of Polyacrylonitrile

THE pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) up to and above 1,000° C is of scientific and technological importance in view of the current interest in carbon fibres. The pyrolysis should be clearly distinguished from the coloration of PAN that occurs on heating in vacua at 150°–220° C (ref. 1) and in processes leading to the uptake of oxygen from air at about 200°–250° C (unpublished work of W. W. and W. Johnson).