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Toray Industries Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) has developed Torayca M46X carbon fiber, a material offering that is reported to be around 20% stronger than others in the Torayca MX series while maintaining a high tensile modulus. Using Torayca M46X reduces the weight of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP), reducing their environmental impact.

Typically, there is a trade-off between carbon fiber’s tensile modulus and strength; boosting strength while maintaining a tensile modulus exceeding 350 GPa presents technological challenges. However, Toray says, the sporting and leisure goods markets demands both qualities to maintain performance while using less carbon fiber to reduce the weight of molded parts.

Toray developed Torayca M46X by pushing the structural control technology envelope. Nano-level control of the graphite crystalline structure inside fibers has resulted in an ultrafine, ultrahigh orientation, producing carbon fiber that is more than 20% stronger than conventional materials while maintaining its tensile modulus.

The company will also deploy Torayca M46X prepreg, which uses a Nanoalloy resin matrix, a proprietary microstructure control technology. The new product will significantly enhance compressive strength to boost stiffness while retaining strength, reducing the weight of finished products and broadening design flexibility, according to Toray.

Developing high-performance carbon fibers with a high tensile modulus exceeding 350 GPa began with Torayca M40 with graphitized yarn. The Torayca MX series, specifically, was created by applying technologies to control graphite crystalline structures and orientations inside fibers. The first offering in this series was the Torayca M40X, launched in 2018, which has since earned a solid reputation as a high-performance carbon fiber and prepreg.