Changes in the microstructure and characteristics of carbon/carbon composites with mesophase mesocarbon microbeads added during graphitization

Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites were prepared from oxidative PAN fiber felts, a resol‐type phenolic resin, and mesophase pitch derived from coal tar. In this study, the effects on mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs), flexural strength, flexural moduli, electric conductivity, and thermal conductivity of C/C composites with a mesophase content ranging from 0 to 30 wt % were examined during pyrolysis. The results show that the C/C composite with the addition of 10–30 wt % mesophase had a higher density, greater stacking size, and higher preferred orientation than the C/C composites without any mesophase during heat treatment. These composites also exhibited an improvement in flexural strength from 19.7 to 30.3%. The flexural moduli of these composites with mesophase added increased by 15.1 to 31.3% compared to that with no mesophase added. These composites also showed improved electric conductivity, from 15.1 to 43.7%, and thermal conductivity, from 12 to 31.3%. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2178–2190, 2005