Graphitization of Coke-Former Hydrocarbons

Cokes are formed by the carbonization of most aromatic hydrocarbons and a few polymers as mentioned above and are readily converted into a well-ordered graphite structure. 

The coke-former aromatic hydrocarbons listed in Table 4.1 and shown in Fig. 4.2, i.e., naphthalene, einthracene, and acenaphtalene, are linear with a coplanar structure that has no preferred growth direction. This structural feature and the formation of a mesophase mentioned in Sec. 2.3 are the major factors in the easy conversion of theturbostratic structure into well-ordered graphite planes.1 1 

Some aromatic compounds do not form coke but char instead (see Sec. 3.5 below). 

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