A study of pitch-based precursors for general purpose carbon fibres Original Research Article

The isotropic phase isolated from a thermally treated coal-tar pitch was studied as a possible precursor for carbon fibres. Extraction with different solvents was performed in order to increase its softening point and so enable higher stabilisation temperatures to be used, with a significant reduction in time. The extraction conditions were selected studying the softening temperatures of the residues, the results of their thermogravimetric analysis and reactivity in air studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The residue obtained with a mixture of 40% acetone–60% acetonitrile was found to be the most suitable precursor for the fibres. The carbonised fibres showed a homogeneous surface and diameter, and had tensile properties comparable to other isotropic fibres described in the literature.