ABSTRACT
Carbon materials in general, and carbon reactions in particular, have repeatedly proven to be an inexhaustible source for scientific research and technological development. Since the chemistry and physics of carbon materials are closely intertwined, it is appropriate to begin the discussion with a summary of the least controversial aspects of carbon structure and properties of carbon surfaces. This chapter reviews of the current state of the art from the perspectives of physical chemistry, solid-state chemistry, analytical chemistry, and electrochemistry. The activation energies for petroleum pitch polymerization have been measured by solvent extraction techniques. The thermal conversion of petroleum pitch to mesophase involves both chemical polymerization and dealkylation reactions. Such chemical reactions remove mesophase inhibitors and disordering species and lead to the formation of large planar molecules.
