Stabilization and carbonization behavior of pitch-model compounds treated with iodine or bromine Original Research Article

Effects of iodine or bromine treatments on the stabilization and carbonization of pitches were investigated by using five kinds of pitch-model compounds with different molecular structures. Iodine treatment significantly modified the thermal properties of compounds with condensed aromatic-rings, which resulted in a high carbon yield. In iodine treatment remarkable reaction was more easily achieved for compounds in the liquid state than in the solid one. In contrast, bromine treatment had a different polymerization reaction from that for iodine, which was effective in increasing carbon yield on even the compounds without condensed rings. This result supports the hypothesis that bromine treatment is independent of the chemical structure of parent pitches.