Method of sizing carbon fibers

Abstract: A sizing agent is prepared from at least one specified kind of ester and at least one specified polyepoxy compound. A water-based sizing agent is prepared by emulsifying or dispersing it in water and is applied to carbon fibers at a specified ratio as sizing agent to improve lubricity, abrasion durability and spreadability of the carbon fibers at the same time.

Description: Background of the Invention This invention relates to a method of sizing carbon fibers. Composites with carbon fibers are widely utilized in the fields of sports, leisure and aerospace technologies. Carbon fibers are usually produced in the form of filaments or tows and fabricated into unidirectionally roved sheets, tapes, filament windings, cloth or chopped fibers. During these fabrication processes, carbon fibers come into contact repetitively with various guide members and are subjected to frictional forces. Carbon fibers are therefore required to have not only lubricity, but also the property of not generating fluffs or filament breakage due to repetitive contacts or friction (hereinafter referred to as the abrasion durability). In order to obtain high quality fabricated products, carbon fibers are further required to have the capability of easily spreading thinly, without gaps, even with weak contact pressure (hereinafter referred to as the spreadability). It now goes without saying that carbon fibers are additionally required not to adversely affect the favorable physical properties, such as interlaminar shear strength of the composite, for the production of which they are used. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of sizing carbon fibers which can respond to all such requirements. According to a prior art method of sizing carbon fibers, a sizing agent is emulsified or dispersed in water and the water-based emulsion of the sizing agent thus obtained is applied to the carbon fibers. Examples of such prior art method include: (1) using together a phenol-based or aromatic amine-based epoxy compound, a nonionic surfactant and either an oleic acid ester of an aliphatic monohydric alcohol or an aliphatic monohydric acid ester of an oleyl alcohol (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 62-56267, US-A-4,751,258, EP-A-436,377); and (2) using together an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid ester of a monohydric compound and a non-ionic surfactant (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 6-10264). Prior art method (1) described above can provide a certain level of lubricity to carbon fibers but cannot provide sufficient abrasion durability or spreadability. Prior art method (2) described above can provide sufficient abrasion durability and spreadability but, when such carbon fibers are used to produce a composite, and especially when epoxy resin is used as matrix resin, the interlaminar shear strength of the produced composite becomes weaker. It is therefore a specific object of this invention to overcome the problems of prior art sizing methods that cannot provide sufficient lubricity, abrasion durability and spreadability to carbon fibers at the same time, or that adversely effect the physical properties of the composite produced therewith. Summary of the Invention The present invention is based on the discovery by the present inventors that the desired results can be obtained if use is made of a sizing agent obtained by mixing at least one ester of a specified kind and at least one polyepoxy compound of a specified kind, at a specified ratio, and to apply a specified amount of this agent as a water-based sizing composition to carbon fibers. Detailed Description of the Invention This invention relates to A method of sizing carbon fibers, wherein said method comprising the steps of: preparing a sizing composition by emulsifying or dispersing in water a sizing agent comprising at least one ester and at least one polyepoxy compound having at least two epoxy groups at weight ratio of 2/98-16/84; and applying said sizing composition to said carbon fibers, such that said sizing agent is attached to said carbon fibers at an amount of 0.1-5.0 weight %; said ester being one or more selected from the groups consisting of Group A, Group B and Group C; said Group A consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric alcohol, having 2-20 carbon atoms, with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, having 6-26 carbon atoms said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage; said Group B consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric (poly)etherpolyol with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage; and said Group C consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying a mixture aliphatic monohydric alcohols, having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an unsaturated aliphatic alcohol, with an aliphatic dicarboxylic-hexacarboxylic acid having 2-20 carbon atoms. More in detail, esters of Group A which may be used according to this invention are esters of mixtures of aliphatic monocarboxylic acid with 6-26 carbon atoms, of which 50-95 molar %, preferably 60-90 molar %, and more preferably 70-85 molar % is aliphatic monocarboxylic acid with one ethylenic linkage, and aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric alcohol having 2-20 carbon atoms. Examples of aforementioned aliphatic monocarboxylic acid mixtures include various well known kinds of saturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, and aliphatic acids having one or more ethylenic linkages but 50-95 molar %, preferably 60-90 molar %, and more preferably 70-85 molar % of which is aliphatic acid with one ethylenic link. Examples of such aliphatic monocarboxylic acids include various known kinds of aliphatic monocarboxylic acid but aliphatic with 14-22 carbon atoms such as myristoleic acid, palmitoleic acids, oleic acid and erucic acid are preferred. Among other aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, saturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, with 12-18 carbon atoms, and aliphatic monocarboxylic acids with two ethylenic linkages are preferred. Examples of aforementioned polyhydric alcohols include (1) aliphatic dihydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, 1,6-hexane diol, hexadecane-1,2-diol, and octadecane-1,2-diol; (2) aliphatic trihydric alcohols such as glycerine, trimethylol ethane and trimethylol propane; and (3) aliphatic tetrahydric or hexahydric alcohols such as pentaerythritol and sorbitol, but aliphatic dihydric-tetrahydric alcohols are preferred. Esters of Group B according to this invention are esters of a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids with 6-26 carbon atoms, of which 50-95 molar %, preferably 60-90 molar %, and more preferably 70-85 molar % is aliphatic monocarboxylic acid with one ethylenic linkage, and dihydric-hexahydric (poly)ether polyol. Examples of aforementioned aliphatic monocarboxylic acid are as described above regarding esters of Group A. Examples of aforementioned (poly)ether polyol include: (1) dihydric-hexahydric ether polyols such as diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diglycerine and dipentaerythritol; and (2) dihydric-hexahydric polyether polyols obtained by adding alkylene oxide, with 2-3 carbon atoms, to dihydric-hexahydric aliphatic alcohol described above regarding esters of Group A. Among these, however, dihydric-tetrahydric (poly)ether polyols are preferred and those (poly)ether polyols with molecular weight 40-130 per hydroxyl group in the molecule are even more preferred. Esters of Group C, according to this invention, are esters of a mixture of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, with 6-26 carbon atoms, of which 50-95 molar %, preferably 60-90 molar %, and more preferably 70-85 molar % is unsaturated aliphatic alcohol, and aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric acid with 2-20 carbon atoms. Examples of aforementioned aliphatic monohydric alcohols include various well known saturated and unsaturated aliphatic alcohols, of which 50-95 molar %, preferably 60-90 molar %, and more preferably 70-85 molar % is unsaturated aliphatic alcohol. Examples of such unsaturated aliphatic alcohols include: (1) alkane monoenols such as hexadecenyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol and eicosenyl alcohol; and (2) alkane dienols and alkane trienols such as octadeca dienol, octadeca trienol and eicosa trienol. Among the above, alkane monoenols with 16-20 carbon atoms are preferred. Among aliphatic monohydric alcohols, other than unsaturated aliphatic alcohols, saturated aliphatic monohydric alcohols with 12-18 carbon atoms are preferred. Examples of aforementioned aliphatic dicarboxylic-hexacarboxylic acids include: (1) saturated aliphatic dibasic acids such as oxalic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid and octadecane dicarboxylic acid; (2) saturated aliphatic polybasic acids such as 1,2,3-propane tricarboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid and 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexane hexacarboxylic acid; and (3) unsaturated aliphatic dibasic acids such as maleic acid, fumaric acid and dodecenyl succinic acid. Among the above, saturated aliphatic dicarboxylic-tetracarboxylic acids with 4-8 carbon atoms are preferred. The polyepoxy compound to be used, according to this invention, is one having two or more epoxy groups in the molecule. Examples of such polyepoxy compounds include various known polyepoxy compounds, but preferable among them are: (1) phenol based polyepoxy compounds such as bisphenol A diglycidylether, bisphenol F diglycidylether, resorcinol diglycidylether, and polymethylene polyphenyl glycidylether; (2) epoxydized polyalkadienes with alkadiene having 4-6 carbon atoms such as epoxydized polybutadiene and epoxidized polyisoprene; and (3) epoxydized unsaturated fatty acid triglycerides such as epoxidized soybean oil and epoxidized rape seed oil. As explained above, the sizing agent to be used, according to this invention, comprises an ester component and a polyepoxy compound at weight ratio of 2/98-16/84, and preferably 4/96-14/86. According to this invention, such a sizing agent is emulsified or dispersed in water to form a sizing composition, and the sizing composition thus prepared is caused to adhere to carbon fibers. For the preparation of such a sizing composition, it is preferable to use a non-ionic surfactant in order to enable the sizing agent to cover the surface of the carbon fibers uniformly as minute, stable and uniform emulsified or dispersed particles. For this purpose, less than 45 weight parts, and preferably 5-30 weight parts, of the surfactant is used per 100 weight parts of the sizing agent formed with an ester component and a polyepoxy compound. Examples of a non-ionic surfactant to be used as above include: (1) polyoxyethylene substituted phenylethers having a phenyl group substituted with a hydrocarbon group such as polyoxyethylene alkylphenylether, polyoxyethylene (poly)styrylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (poly)benzylphenyl; and (2) a formalin condensation products of polyoxyethylene substituted phenylether of (1), such as formalin condensation product of polyoxyethylene styrylphenylether and formalin condensation product of polyoxyethylene benzylphenylether. In all cases, the repetition number of oxyethylene unit may be selected appropriately for providing desired emulsifying and dispersion characteristics to the sizing composition to be prepared. The sizing composition can be prepared by a known mechanical method using a homo-mixer or a homogenizer. For example, it can be by a so-called emulsification method by phase inversion whereby the ester component and the polyepoxy compound, and preferably a non-ionic surfactant, are mixed together uniformly, and after it is heated and dissolved, if necessary, water is gradually added to this mixture or solution. Normally, the sizing composition is prepared such that the density of the sizing agent consisting only of an ester component and a polyepoxy compound will be 10-50 weight % and, when it is actually used on carbon fibers, water is added further such that the ratio of the sizing agent will be 0.1-10 weight %. This invention does not impose any limitation on the size of the emulsified or dispersed particles in the sizing composition but the preferred particle size is 0.1-0.2µm. A desired particle size can be obtained by appropriately selecting the kind of the non-ionic surfactant and the method of emulsifying or dispersing when the waterbased sizing agent is prepared. The rate at which the sizing composition is to be used is such that the amount of the sizing agent attached to the carbon fibers will be 0.1-5.0 weight %, and preferably 0.5-3.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. Prior art methods of application such as the roller dipping method and the spray method may be used. The present invention can be applied to PAN or pitch-based carbon fibers but is particularly effective on carbon fiber bundles with filament count greater than 500. According to the present invention, the sizing agent can cover the surface of carbon fibers uniformly such that the carbon fibers obtain superior lubricity, abrasion durability and spreadability at the same time. The present invention is also capable of improving physical characteristics of the composites using such carbon fibers. The following sixteen methods are described as examples of preferred methods according to this invention. (1) An ester of a mixture of palmitolic acid and stearic acid, of which 90 molar % is palmitolic acid, and ethylene glycol is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and epoxydized 1,2-polybutadiene (epoxy equivalent 500), at weight ratio of 6/94, to prepare a sizing agent. Polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzyl phenylether (15 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent in water. The waterbased sizing agent thus obtained, is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000 such that the sizing agent will be 1.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. (2) The sizing composition described in (1) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. (3) An ester of a mixture of oleic acid and stearic acid, of which 75 molar % is oleic acid, and pentaerythritol is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 170), at weight ratio of 12/88, to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (35 mole) tribenzylphenylether (25 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent in water. The sizing composition thus obtained, is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000 such that the sizing agent will be 1.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. (4) The sizing composition described in (3) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000 such that the sizing agent will be 0.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (5) The sizing composition described in (4) is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000, such that the sizing agent will be 2.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. (6) The sizing composition described in (4) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 2.0 weight % of the carbon fibers. (7) An ester of a mixture of oleic acid and palmitic acid, of which 90 molar % is oleic acid, and diethylene glycol is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 650) at weight ratio of 4/96, to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzylphenylether (25 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent, and the sizing composition thus obtained is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000 such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (8) The sizing composition described in (7) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (9) An Ester of a mixture of oleic acid and lauric acid, of which 75 molar % is oleic acid, and diglycerine is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 170) at weight ratio of 8/92 to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (35 mole) tribenzylphenylether (25 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent, and the sizing composition thus obtained is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (10) The sizing composition described in (9) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (11) An ester of a mixture of oleic acid and palmitic acid, of which 67 molar % is oleic acid, and triethoxylated glycerine is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 170), at weight ratio of 12/88, to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (35 mole) tribenzylphenylether (10 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent, and the sizing composition thus obtained is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (12) The sizing composition described in (11) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000 such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (13) An ester of a mixture of oleyl alcohol and lauryl alcohol, of which 90 molar % is oleyl alcohol, and succinic acid is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 450) at weight ratio of 6/94, to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzylphenylether (25 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent, and the sizing composition thus obtained is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (14) The sizing composition described in (13) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (15) An ester of a mixture of oleyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol, of which 75 molar % is oleyl alcohol, and 1,2,3,4butane tetracarboxylic acid is mixed with a mixture of bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190) and bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 450), at weight ratio of 12/88, to prepare a sizing agent. A mixture of polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether and polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzylphenylether (25 weight parts) is used to emulsify 100 weight parts of this sizing agent, and the sizing composition thus obtained is applied by the roller dipping method to PAN type carbon fibers with a filament count of 12000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. (16) The sizing composition described in (15) is applied by the spray method to pitch-based carbon fibers with a filament count of 5000, such that the sizing agent will be 1.5 weight % of the carbon fibers. In what follows, the present invention is described further in detail with reference to test examples and comparison examples, but it goes without saying that these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In what follows, "parts" will mean "weight parts", and "%" will mean "weight %". Examples Part (1) (Preparation of water-based sizing compositions) Preparation of sizing composition (S-1) The ester (a-1) of ethylene glycol, palmitolic acid and stearic acid at molar ratio of 1/1.8/0.2 was prepared according to the method of synthesis described in Japanese Patent Publication Tokkai 6-10264. After 6g of the ester (a-1) was obtained, 25g of the polyoxy compound ((e-1): bisphenol A diglycidylether with an epoxy equivalent of 190), 69g of polyepoxy the compound ((e-5): epoxydized 1,2-polybutadiene with an epoxy equivalent of 500), and 15g of polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzylphenylether were melted and mixed together at 90°C, and the mixture was then cooled to 40°C. Water (460g) at 40°C was added to this mixture to prepare sizing composition(S-1). Sizing compositions (S-2)-(S-7) and (R-1)-(R-15) were similarly prepared as shown in Tables 1 and 2. Water based sizing composition Ester Polyepoxy compound Ratio (weight Ratio) Non-ionic Surfactant Kind Amount (Part) Kind Amount (Part) Kind Amount (Part) S-1 a-1 6 e-1 25 6/94 n-1 15 e-5 69 S-2 a-2 12 e-1 63 12/88 n-3 20 e-4 25 n-2 5 S-3 b-1 4 e-1 65 4/96 n-1 19 e-3 31 n-2 6 S-4 b-2 8 e-1 42 8/92 n-3 20 e-4 50 n-2 5 S-5 b-3 12 e-1 63 12/88 n-3 5 e-4 25 n-2 5 S-6 c-1 6 e-1 50 6/94 n-1 19 e-2 44 n-2 6 S-7 c-2 12 e-1 44 12/88 n-1 20 e-2 44 n-2 5 Water based Sizing Composition Ester Polyepoxy Compound Ratio Non-ionic Surfactant Kind Amount (Part) Kind Amount (Part) (Weight Ratio) Kind Amount (Part) R-1 ar-1 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 15 e-2 38 R-2 ar-2 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-3 20 e-2 38 n-2 5 R-3 ar-3 6 e-1 58 6/94 n-3 20 e-2 36 n-2 5 R-4 br-1 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 19 e-2 38 n-2 6 R-5 br-2 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-3 20 e-2 38 n-2 5 R-6 br-3 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-3 20 e-2 38 n-2 5 R-7 br-4 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-3 20 e-2 38 n-2 5 R-8 cr-1 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 19 e-2 38 n-2 5 R-9 cr-2 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 25 e-2 38 R-10 cr-3 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 25 e-2 38 R-11 r-1 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 15 e-2 38 R-12 r-2 6 e-1 56 6/94 n-1 15 e-2 38 R-13 r-3 100 - - 100/0 n-4 33 n-5 33 R-14 a-1 1 e-1 61 1/99 n-1 15 e-5 38 R-15 a-1 19 e-1 43 19/81 n-1 15 e-5 38 In Tables 1 and 2: a-1: The ester (90 molar %) of ethylene glycol, palmitolic acid and stearic acid at molar ratio of 1/1.8/0.2; a-2: The ester (75 molar %) of pentaerythritol, oleic acid and stearic acid at molar ratio of 1/3/1; ar-1: Ethylene glycol distearate (0 molar %); ar-2: The ester (25 molar %) of pentaerythritol, lauric acid and oleic acid at molar ratio of 1/3/1; ar-3: The ester (100 molar %) of pentaerythritol and oleic acid at molar ratio of 1/4; b-1: The ester (90 molar %) of diethylene diglycol, oleic acid and palmitic acid at molar ratio of 1/1.8/0.2; b-2: The ester (75 molar %) of diglycerine, oleic acid and lauric acid at molar ratio of 1/3/1; b-3: The ester (67 molar %) of triethoxylated glycerine, oleic acid and palmitic acid at molar ratio of 1/2/1; br-1: Diethylene diglycol distearate (0 molar %); br-2: The ester (38 molar %) of diglycerine, oleic acid and stearic acid at molar ratio of 1/1.5/2.5; br-3: The ester (100 molar %) of diglycerine and oleic acid at molar ratio of 1/4; br-4: The ester (33 molar %) of triethoxylated glycerine, oleic acid and palmitic acid at molar ratio of 1/1/2; c-1: The ester (90 molar %) of oleyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol and succinic acid at molar ratio of 1.8/0.2/1; c-2: The ester (75 molar %) of oleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid at molar ratio of 3/1/1; cr-1: Distearyl succinate (0 molar %); cr-2: The ester (38 molar %) of oleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid at molar ratio of 1.5/2.5/1; cr-3: The ester (100 molar %) of oleyl alcohol and 1,2,3,4butane tetracarboxylic acid at molar ratio of 4/1; r-1: Oleyl stearate; r-2: Oleyl oleate; r-3: The ester of polyoxy ethylene (5 mole) glycol oleylether and palmitolic acid at molar ratio of 1/1; (In the above, the molar % represents the ratio of aliphatic monoenic acid in aliphatic monocarboxylic acid in the case of ester corresponding to Group A or Group B, and the ratio of unsaturated aliphatic alcohol in aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the case of ester corresponding to Group C.) e-1: Bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 190: Epicote 828, produced by Yuka Shell Epoxy, Inc.); e-2: Bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 450: Epicote 1001, produced by Yuka Shell Epoxy, Inc.); e-3: Bisphenol A diglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 650: Epicote 1002, produced by Yuka Shell Epoxy, Inc.); e-4: polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether (epoxy equivalent 170: Epicote 152 produced by Yuka Shell Epoxy, Inc.); e-5: Epoxydized 1,2-polybutadiene (epoxy equivalent 500: BF-1000 produced by Adeka Argus Chem. Corp.); n-1: Polyoxyethylene (25 mole) tribenzylphenylether; n-2: Polyoxyethylene (10 mole) nonylphenylether; n-3: Polyoxyethylene (35 mole) tribenzylphenylether; n-4: Polyoxyethylene (10 mole)/polyoxypropylene (2 mole) random adduct of castor oil; n-5: Polyoxyethylene (16 mole)/polyoxypropylene (4 mole) block adduct of laurylether Part (2) (Sizing of Carbon Fibers and Evaluations) Sizing of carbon fibers Each of the sizing compositions prepared in Part (1) was diluted with water, according to the desired rate of attachment of the sizing agent, and placed in a processing tank. Unsized carbon fibers obtained from polyacrylonitril fibers (with tensile strength 360kg/mm 2 , tensile modulus 23.5t/mm 2 , and filament count 12000) were successively dipped in the processing tank, and the desired amount of the sizing composition was applied by adjusting the squeezing condition on the rollers. They were dried successively in an over at 120°C for 5 minutes. Evaluation of abrasion durability ((*) in Table 3) A TM type yarn friction and rubbing tester produced by Daiei Kagaku Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha was used to cause a chromium-plated metal piece to undergo a reciprocating motion 200 times at the rate of 150 times/minute. The friction between the metal and the carbon fibers was thus tested and the appearance of fluffs and yarn breakage was evaluated by the 5-point method according to the following standards: 5: Fluffs are not present; 4: Fluffs are somewhat present; 3: Fluffs are present; 2: There are many fluffs and there is yarn breakage; 1: Yarn breakage. The results are shown in Table 3. Evaluation of spreadability ((**) in Table 3) A center part of sized carbon fibers of length 15cm was clamped from two directions by clips, with a width of 15mm, and the value of resistance (g) was continuously measured as the fibers were spread at the speed of 7cm/minute in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the length. The maximum measured value was recorded as the force of spread resistance (g). If the spread resistance is 1-10g, spreadability is considered sufficient. The results are shown in Table 3. Measurement of interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) The thermosetting (at 120°c) epoxy resin coating paper was used to produce, by the dry method, unidirectional prepregnated sheets with sized carbon fibers, at the rate of 100g/m 2 and a resin content 33%. These prepregnated sheets were stacked inside a mold and a composite was produced with the application of pressure of 7kg/cm 2 at 120°C, for 40 minutes. The interlaminar shear strength of this composite was measured according to D2344 of ASTM. The results are shown in Table 3. Measurement of particle diameters (Size) The diameters of the emulsified or dispersed particles of sizing compositions, prepared in Part (2), were measured by a particle size analyzer using laser diffraction/scattering method (LA-700 produced by Horiba Seisakusho, Co., Ltd.). The results are shown in Table 3. Table 3 clearly shows that carbon fibers can be provided with lubricity, abrasion durability and spreadability at the same time according to this invention and that composites with superior physical properties can be obtained. Example WBSC Amount Lubricity (*) (**) ILSS Size (%) F/Fµ F/Mµ (Point) (g) (kg/mm2) (µm) 1 S-1 1.0 0.22 0.20 4-5 1.5 8.3 0.19 2 S-2 0.5 0.17 0.16 5 2.1 8.1 0.14 3 S-2 2.0 0.16 0.15 5 2.0 8.0 0.14 4 S-3 1.5 0.21 0.20 5 2.5 8.2 0.18 5 S-4 1.5 0.20 0.19 5 2.1 8.1 0.17 6 S-5 1.5 0.17 0.16 5 2.1 8.0 0.18 7 S-6 1.5 0.20 0.19 5 2.2 8.2 0.19 8 S-7 1.5 0.17 0.16 5 2.3 8.0 0.19 Comparison Examples: 1 R-1 1.5 0.23 0.24 2-3 2.2 6.8 0.25 2 R-2 1.5 0.21 0.20 3 2.2 7.0 0.20 3 R-3 1.5 0.23 0.24 3-4 2.5 7.0 0.28 4 R-4 1.5 0.23 0.21 2-3 2.2 6.9 0.20 5 R-5 1.5 0.23 0.21 3 2.1 7.0 0.21 6 R-6 1.5 0.24 0.25 3-4 2.6 7.0 0.28 7 R-7 1.5 0.24 0.22 3 2.3 6.9 0.20 8 R-8 1.5 0.24 0.22 2-3 2.2 7.0 0.21 9 R-9 1.5 0.23 0.22 3 2.3 6.9 0.20 10 R-10 1.5 0.22 0.23 3-4 2.4 7.0 0.28 11 R-11 1.5 0.22 0.21 3 2.3 7.0 0.28 12 R-12 1.5 0.22 0.20 3-4 2.3 7.3 0.26 13 R-13 1.5 0.20 0.19 3 0.8 6.9 0.12 14 R-14 1.5 0.28 0.30 2 2.3 7.1 0.27 15 R-15 1.5 0.15 0.14 5 0.8 6.8 0.25 16 S-1 0.02 0.32 0.35 1 2.0 7.3 0.22 17 S-1 15.0 0.28 0.25 4-5 2.1 6.1 0.22 In Table 3: "Amount": Amount of sizing agent attached to carbon fibers; "(*)": Abrasion durability; "(**)": Spreadability. WBSC: water based sizing composition

Claims: A method of sizing carbon fibers, wherein said method comprising the steps of: preparing a sizing composition by emulsifying or dispersing in water a sizing agent comprising at least one ester and at least one polyepoxy compound having at least two epoxy groups at weight ratio of 2/98-16/84; and applying said sizing composition to said carbon fibers, such that said sizing agent is attached to said carbon fibers at an amount of 0.1-5.0 weight %; said ester being one or more selected from the groups consisting of Group A, Group B and Group C; said Group A consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric alcohol, having 2-20 carbon atoms, with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, having 6-26 carbon atoms said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage; said Group B consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydric-hexahydric (poly)etherpolyol with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage; and said Group C consisting of esters obtained by completely esterifying a mixture aliphatic monohydric alcohols, having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 50-95 molar % of an unsaturated aliphatic alcohol, with an aliphatic dicarboxylic-hexacarboxylic acid having 2-20 carbon atoms. The method of claim 1 wherein said sizing composition is formed by adding less than 45 weight parts of a nonionic surfactant to 100 weight parts of said sizing agent, to emulsify or disperse in water, said non-ionic surfactant being at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyoxyethylene phenylether, having a phenyl group substituted with a hydrocarbon group and a formaldehyde condensate thereof. The method of claim 2 wherein said Group A consists of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydrichexahydric alcohol having 2-20 carbon atoms, with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 60-90 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage. The method of claim 2 wherein said Group B consists of esters obtained by completely esterifying an aliphatic dihydrichexahydric (poly)etherpolyol with a mixture of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 60-90 molar % of an aliphatic monocarboxylic acid having one ethylenic linkage. The method of claim 2 wherein said Group C consists of esters obtained by completely esterifying a mixture of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, having 6-26 carbon atoms, said mixture containing 60-90 molar % of unsaturated aliphatic alcohol, with an aliphatic dicarboxylichexacarboxylic acid having 2-20 carbon atoms. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one polyepoxy compound consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of bisphenol diglycidylether and polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether. The method of claim 2 wherein said at least one polyepoxy compound consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of bisphenol diglycidylether and polymethylene polyphenylglycidylether. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one polyepoxy compound consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of an epoxydized polyalkadiene with 4-6 carbons. The method of claim 2 wherein said at least one polyepoxy compound consists of at least one selected from the group consisting of an epoxydized polyalkadiene with 4-6 carbons.

Inventors: MAKINO OSAMU, NAKAOKA YOSHIHIKO, MAKINO, OSAMU, NAKAOKA, YOSHIHIKO
Applicants: TAKEMOTO OIL & FAT CO LTD, TAKEMOTO YUSHI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: D01F11
IPC codes: D06M15, D06M13, D01F11