Preparation and characterization of mesophase formation of pyrolysis fuel oil-derived binder pitches for carbon composites

Petroleum-based mesophase binder pitches were prepared from pyrolyzed fuel oil (PFO) using heat treatment. The mesophase was fabricated by an additional heat treatment of PFO-based raw pitches. Therefore, during the formation of the mesophase, the generation of small spherical particles was confirmed with increasing reaction temperature, for temperatures under 400 °C. During heat treatment at temperatures above 400 °C, the small spherical mesophase structures coalesced to form mesophase structures in the bulk. In addition, with increasing heat treatment temperature and time, the softening point, the C/H ratio, and quinoline-insoluble (QI) material of the binder pitches increased significantly, confirming an increase in the mesophase content.