Relating reactivity to structure in cokes and carbon materials: Temperature-programmed oxidation and microscopy techniques

A series of carbon materials and composites has been characterized by temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), polarized light microscopy (PLM), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and temperature-programmed desorption coupled with mass-spectrometry analysis. For materials containing anisotropic carbons, a consistent relationship was found between oxidation reactivity and optical texture. Polarized-light microscopy in combination with TPO can help assessing the relationships between oxidation reactivity and optical texture of anisotropic carbons. Deconvolution of TPO profiles and PLM observations can effectively identify the individual components of multi-component carbon materials with important implications in structure-property relationships and their applications. For amorphous carbons with isotropic optical textures, TPO profiles were found to be influenced by the surface chemistry of the materials. It appears that the TPO technique under controlled conditions provides a rapid analysis of solids carbons with respect to their structure and properties. This is particularly useful for the analysis of carbon composites with multiple phases in combination with microscopic examination and elemental analysis using EDS.