Graphitizable pitch from pine resin enables bulk graphite from terpenes.

Abstract

Graphitization of biomass-derived carbon is fundamentally constrained by the absence of molecular architectures capable of forming a mesophase during carbonization. Unlike petroleum-derived pitches, most biomass precursors lack sufficient aromatic condensation and therefore fail to undergo liquid-phase graphitization. Here we demonstrate a chemically guided strategy to convert terpene-based biomass into a true graphitizable pitch through deliberate molecular restructuring. Pine-resin-derived terpenes are sequentially transformed via deoxygenation-aromatization and controlled oligomerisation, yielding an aromatic pitch with intrinsically low heteroatom content. Thermal analysis and polarized optical microscopy provide evidence of thermoplastic behavior and mesophase formation during heating. Upon high-temperature treatment, the resulting pitch yields graphite with crystallinity comparable to natural graphite. This work establishes a molecular design principle for constructing graphitizable pitches from biomass-derived feedstocks.