This investigation was carried out to produce a new and high quality carbon material from atomization of modified coal tar pitch.
As a result, we obtained fine particles of pitch with 10μm average diameter. When this par-ticles were oxidized at 150-350°C with air, they were converted into infusible particles over 250°C. Elementary analysis showed that amounts of oxygen in sample increased with increasing temperature. FT-IR spectroscopy showed that the oxygen containing functional groups were formed in the air oxidation. The above results indicate the conclusion that oxygen induced dehydrogenative polymerization and development of three-dimensional cross-linked structure. Study of polarized light microscopy showed that the oxidation prevented the mesophase develop-ment.