Effect of heat treatment conditions on the catalytic graphitization of coal-tar pitch

The effect of heat treatment conditions on the properties of carbon materials obtained in the process of the low-temperature graphitization of coal-tar pitch in the presence of a cellular graphite catalyst was studied by X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis. It was found that materials whose X-ray structural characteristics are close to those of graphite were formed at 800–900°C. An increase in the process temperature to 1400°C, just as an isothermal exposure at 900°C, increased the degree of graphitization of carbon materials but decreased the amount of heteroatoms in their composition.