Publication date: 22nd July 2026
The energy-intensive stabilisation and carbonisation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibres remain major challenges in conventional carbon fibre manufacturing. Microwave heating provides an alternative processing route and has demonstrated accelerated oxidative stabilisation and effective carbonisation of PAN-based fibres compared with conventional thermal processing [1,2]. However, achieving efficient and controllable microwave coupling throughout fibre processing remains important for exploiting the advantages of microwave heating. This work investigates lignin-derived carbon dots (LCDs) as bio-based microwave susceptors for enhancing the microwave response of PAN fibres.
Lignin is a renewable, carbon-rich aromatic biopolymer that provides a promising precursor for carbon quantum dots, with recent studies demonstrating the conversion of lignin into nanoscale carbonaceous structures through hydrothermal-based processing [3,4]. In this study, organosolv lignin is employed as the precursor for LCD synthesis using controlled thermal, oxidative and hydrothermal processing. The resulting materials are characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and optical characterisation. Particular emphasis is placed on evaluating complex permittivity and dielectric loss behaviour at frequencies relevant to 2.45 GHz microwave processing.Promising LCD formulations will subsequently be incorporated onto PAN fibres and evaluated as surface-associated microwave susceptors. Their microwave heating behaviour will be compared with untreated PAN fibres to establish relationships between carbon structure, surface chemistry, dielectric response and microwave coupling. By combining lignin valorisation with microwave-enabled PAN fibre processing, this study seeks to establish a renewable susceptor strategy for more energy-efficient and sustainable PAN-based carbon fibre manufacturing.
This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme through the CARBOWAVE Doctoral Training Network under Grant Agreement No. 101192581. The authors gratefully acknowledge the University of Limerick and the CARBOWAVE consortium for their support.
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