Preparation and structure analysis of nano-iron/mesocarbon microbead composites made from a coal tar pitch with addition of ferrocene

Nano-iron/mesocarbon microbead composites have been synthesized from a coal tar pitch by heating at 415 °C with ferrocene under pressure. The resulting composites were characterized using the combined techniques including SEM, TEM, XRD and EDS. The effect of ferrocene addition on the growth and structure of mesocarbon microbeads was discussed. It was found that nano-iron particles were of sizes 10-40 nm and mainly existed in the form Fe-O and Fe1−xS. The iron particles, which had dispersed homogeneously in pristine and carbonized spheres, accelerated the nucleation and growth of spheres and consequently enhanced the structural ordering of spheres. The addition of ferrocene introduced a tendency to order in the microtexture of spheres.