Glassy Carbons

Through the introduction of a controlled porosity, it was possible to produce glassy carbon in section thickness in excess of 3 inches in processing times less than six days. The properties obtainable compare favorably not only with other carbons, but with other materials for high temperature applications. A new thermodynamic method was developed and applied to quantitatively measure the configurational enthalpy and entropy of various glassy carbons relative to graphite. Disorder in glassy carbon was shown to at least partially account for the increased resistance to gasification in CO-CO2 shown at high temperatures by glassy carbons with respect to graphite. The fine structure determined by electron microscopy, electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction is not homogeneous on a size scale below 100 Angstroms.