Title: coke
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - coke
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.C01142
Status: current

Definition
A solid high in content of the element carbon and structurally in the non-graphitic state. It is produced by pyrolysis of organic material which has passed, at least in part, through a liquid or liquid-crystalline state during the carbonization process. Coke can contain mineral matter.

Note
As some parts, at least, of the carbonization product have passed through a liquid or liquid-crystalline state, the resulting non-graphitic carbon is of the graphitizable variety. From a structural viewpoint, the term coke characterizes the state of graphitizable carbon before the beginning of graphitization.

Related Terms
- carbonization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C00840
- graphitizable carbon: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/G02690
- graphitization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/G02691
- non-graphitic carbon: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/N04193
- pyrolysis: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04961

Source
- PAC, 1995, 67, 473. 'Recommended terminology for the description of carbon as a solid (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 485 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567030473)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01142/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01142/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01142/xml

Citation: Citation: 'coke' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.C01142
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Accessed: 2026-05-09T08:58:56+00:00