First, it's essential to clarify a core concept: standard carbon fiber itself is a semiconductor and does not exhibit excellent conductivity. What we commonly refer to as "conductive carbon fiber filament" is a carbon fiber material that has been specially treated or composited to enhance its conductivity.
Its primary material compositions can be classified into the following categories:
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Modified Carbon Fiber
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Graphitized Carbon Fiber: Carbon fiber is heat-treated at extremely high temperatures (2000-3000°C) to transform its internal carbon atoms from a turbostratic structure into a more ordered graphite crystal structure. This process significantly improves the fiber's electrical and thermal conductivity, but at a high cost.
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Surface-Metalized Carbon Fiber: A metal layer (such as nickel, copper, or silver) is coated onto the carbon fiber surface through methods like electroplating, electroless plating, vacuum deposition, or sputtering. This combines the high strength of carbon fiber with the high conductivity of metal.
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Composite Conductive Filament
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Blended Carbon Fiber and Metal Fiber: Carbon fiber is twisted or plied with conductive metal fibers (such as stainless steel or copper fibers) to create a composite yarn. This is currently the most common and cost-effective solution.
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Carbon Fiber-Based Composite Filament: During the carbon fiber production process, highly conductive nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes or graphene are incorporated, or the fiber is compounded with other polymer matrices to form a conductive filament.
In simple terms, conductive carbon fiber filament typically uses carbon fiber as a skeleton structure. Stable and efficient conductive functionality is achieved through surface modification or compositing with other conductive materials.
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