Carbonization and graphitization of meso-carbon microbeads prepared by the emulsion method

Meso-carbon microbeads (MCB) prepared from coal-tar and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)-decant oil pitches by an emulsion method were carbonized and graphitized. When using the thermosetting process as a pretreatment, the weight gain of MCB by oxidation was approximately 5 wt%, and Fourier transform-infrared measurement showed that the oxidation occurred mainly at aliphatic components in MCB. In the course of carbonization, a heat treatment at 700°C eliminated the C-H groups and the oxygen-containing functional groups, which had remained partly at 500°C. MCB were fairly graphitizable, considering the high values of\(L_{c^{(o o 2)} } \) obtained from X-ray diffraction measurement. The surface of MCB, which had been originally smooth, became slightly irregular during carbonization, and deformation in the shape of MCB was observed after the graphitization process. These are due to the anisotropic growth and shrinkage of the mesophase structure.