| abstract |
A carbon fiber tow composed of many carbon filaments and having a strand tensile strength of 3.8 to 5.5 GPa, a strand tensile modulus of 180 to 220 GPa and a carbon crystal size (Lc) of 13 to 18 Å. This carbon fiber tow can be produced by subjecting a precursor fiber tow composed of many polyacrylonitrile filaments which have a lightness difference (ΔL) of 50 or below and fineness of 1.1 to 1.7dtex to oxidative stabilization and subjecting the stabilized fiber tow to carbonization with the maximum temperature within the range of 1,100 to 1,300˚C in an inert atmosphere while raising the temperature from 1,000˚C to the maximum temperature at a temperature rise rate of 100 to 2,000˚C/min. |