Morphology-controlled carbonaceous and graphitic materials prepared from conjugated polymers as precursors through solid-state carbonization

[Display omitted] •Carbon materials were prepared from conjugated polymers as carbonization precursors.•We prepared aligned graphite films from iodine-doped stretchable polyacetylene films.•We prepared helical graphite films from iodine-doped helical polyacetylene films.•We prepared helical graphite films from ClO4−-doped helical PEDOT films.•We prepared graphite whiskers from self-assembled polyphenylene derivatives. This minireview highlights carbon-based materials produced from conjugated polymers as a new class of synthetic polymeric precursors through carbonization at high temperatures. Various approaches for preparing aliphatic and aromatic conjugated polymers with controlled morphologies using different polymer-processing techniques are discussed. The solid-state carbonization of highly stretched polyacetylene (PA) films, helical PAs or helical poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)s, and self-assembled poly(meta-phenylene)s was shown to produce anisotropic graphite films, helical graphites, and graphite whiskers, respectively. The conjugated-polymer-derived carbons are expected to find advanced potential applications based on their precursor-dependent morphological functions.