A microscopic study on the oxidative stabilization of a coal-tar-based mesophase pitch and its blends with PVC pitch

Coal-tar-based mesophase pitch and its blends with PVC pitch at 5 or 10 wt% were oxidatively stabilized at 230, 270 and 300°C for variable periods to clarify the progress of stabilization and the effects of the blending with PVC pitch on the stabilization reactivity. PVC pitch which was prepared from PVC by heat-treatment at 420°C for 2h enhanced the stabilization reactivity of whole pitch fibres to shorten the stabilization time to a half of that for mesophase pitch alone. PVC pitch carrying considerable amounts of aliphatic components and large molecular weight may initiate, as a trigger, the stabilization reactions of mesophase constituent molecules. Carbonized fibres of 30μm diameter after stabilization at 270 and 300°C exhibited a skin-core structure, while fibres of 10μm diameter showed no skin-core structure, indicating a homogeneous progress of stabilization in the radial direction of the latter fibres. Lower stabilization temperatures provoked no skin-core structure even in the thick fibres. The rate of core diminishing became relatively slower in the later stage of the stabilization, even when the reactivity of the pitch fibres was enhanced by blending with PVC pitch and using a higher stabilization temperature. The diffusion of the oxidant and stabilization reactivity of the pitch fibres are discussed comparatively.