Preparing Asphaltene-based Carbon Fibres by Electrospinning for Optoelectronic Applications

Currently, most electrodes used for optoelectronic application are coated with metal oxides as a conductive substrate, but are expensive to produce. There have been many studies on finding a cheaper and flexible alternatives such as graphene. Asphaltenes are polyaromatic hydrocarbons defines by their solubility class that has a similar structure to graphene. Asphaltenes are found in crude oil, tar sands and coal, but create several problems in the oil industry and are considered a waste due to its tendency to aggregate. The focus of this project is to raise the value of asphaltene by preparing asphaltene-based carbon fibres by electrospinning, which is a simple cost-effective technique to produce fibres from a polymeric solution. Due to the tensile properties and conductivity and carbon fibres, they make a promising alternative to metal oxides to transform existing surfaces into conductive substrates.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bryan Koivisto

Student:

Tristan Mananquil

Partner:

Anfernee Innovative Materials Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Ryerson University