By design: From waste to next-gen carbon fiber

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-next-gen-carbon-fiber.html

"Yuan's previous work identified three main roadblocks to incorporating lignin in the equation: neither lignin's chemical structure nor its molecular weight is uniform, which makes it difficult to combine with other polymers. And it has a high number of OH groups, a reactive pairing of oxygen and hydrogen that attracts water—not ideal for building a rigid material like carbon fiber. These discoveries inspired Yuan and Jinghao Li, a senior scientist at Washington University, to redesign lignin structures"

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