Term: needle coke
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.N04095

Definition:
The commonly used term for a special type of coke with extremely high graphitizability resulting from a strong preferred parallel orientation of its turbostratic layer structure and a particular physical shape of the grains.

Note: Needle @C01142@ is derived mainly from clean (i.e. lacking hetero atoms and solids) and highly aromatic (i.e. several condensed rings per @CT06769@) feedstocks with a very low concentration of insolubles. Upon @S05733@ a material with a distinctive streaked or flow-like macroscopic appearance is produced. Upon grinding the @C01142@ breaks up first into macroscopic needles and then, after further grinding, into microplatelets. Sometimes the word 'acicular' is used as a synonym for needle-like.

Related Terms:
1) coke (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01142).
2) cluster (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.CT06769).
3) solidification (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.S05733).

Source: PAC, 1995, 67, 473. 'Recommended terminology for the description of carbon as a solid (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 497 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567030473)

Citation: 'needle coke' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.N04095

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