Polymerization kinetics and control of the components of a mesophase pitch

Effect of Mesophase Pitch Incorporation on the Ablation Behavior and Mechanism of Phenolic Composites

“…In addition, the glassy carbon generated by phenolics is difficult to graphitize even when heated to high temperatures and easily oxidized to generate defects such as pores and cracks during the ablation process, which will provide channels for the heat stream and further accelerate the oxidation and pyrolysis of the internal structure of the material . As one of precursors for many advanced carbon materials, such as carbon fiber, , carbon foam, , C/C composite material, and anode material for lithium-ion batteries, synthetic mesophase pitch is a fully optical anisotropic substance prepared by thermal polycondensation of pure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which has the capacity to develop a graphite-like carbon structure with excellent oxidation resistance and high char residue amount at high temperatures via the liquid-phase carbonization process. , In the liquid-state mesophase, the pitch behaves as a nematic liquid crystal with planar molecular architecture that consists of aromatic oligomers, where aromatic planes were stacked approximately parallel to one another . We conjecture that due to its liquid-state fabrication characteristics, the introduction of MP can heal some defects such as pores and microcracks within the char layer during the ablation process and offer the char layer high graphitization as well as stable mechanical properties, thereby improving the ablation and insulation performance of materials.…”