Acceleration strategy for rapid oxidation stabilization of pitch and the influence on the structure and property of carbon materials

Pitch, an abundant and low-cost precursor with a high carbon yield, is widely used to produce various carbon materials. However, the oxidation stabilization process, a crucial step in preparing pitch-based carbon materials, faces challenges owing to the low oxidative reactivity of pitch molecules and slow oxygen diffusion kinetics, hindering the efficient large-scale production of high-performance pitch-based carbon materials. To address these limitations, the fundamental properties of pitch, the mechanism and limiting factors of oxidation stabilization are first outlined. Subsequently, acceleration strategies and corresponding mechanisms are systematically summarized from two perspectives: enhancing the oxidation reactivity of pitch molecules and accelerating the oxygen diffusion. Furthermore, how the structures of oxidized products determine the microstructures, properties and applications of carbon materials is discussed to provide guidelines for the tailored design of high-performance pitch-based carbon materials. Finally, current research limitations and potential solutions are envisaged.