Enhanced oxidation performance of pitch fibers formed from a heterogeneous pitch blend

The oxidation performance of heterogeneous pitch fibers formed by blending a coal tar-derived isotropic pitch (IPc) and a naphthalene-derived mesophase pitch (MPn) was studied. The role of IPc in affecting the oxidation performance of such heterogeneous fibers was illustrated. The IPc spherical domains distributed in the MPn matrix facilitate the reduction of oxidization time and the decrease of the gradient of oxygen distribution. As such, the MPn/IPc blends have been demonstrated to be a feasible approach for reducing the oxidation difficulties in producing large diameter carbon fibers. Further improvement on the oxidation efficiency and the suppression of deep stabilization in large diameter pitch fibers were observed, when the blend precursors were oxidized in pure oxygen atmosphere.