Processing of mesocarbon microbeads to high-performance materials: Part III. High-temperature sintering and graphitization

The sintering and graphitization behavior of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) at high temperatures (1900-2800 K) is investigated. It is shown that while the low temperature sintering performance of MCMB is unique, at high temperature it appears to be similar to that of conventional materials. In contrast, the obtained activation energy for MCMB high-temperature graphitization is ∼100 kcal/mol, which is smaller than that (∼240 kcal/mol) for typical carbon systems. It is concluded that the combination of such unique properties as excellent compressibility, low temperature sinterability, and rapid graphitization makes MCMB an attractive precursor for manufacturing carbon-based materials.