Two mesophase samples, one derived from a coal-tar pitch (M-A) and the other from a naphthalene-based pitch (M-B), were stabilized with air in a temperature range of 200-300 degreesC and then carbonized to 1000 degreesC. Elemental analysis and FTIR spectroscopy were used to monitor the changes produced by oxygen in the chemical composition of the mesophase samples at different stages of stabilization (from 200 to 300 degreesC and after carbonization of the stabilized samples (from 300 to 1000 degreesC. The results show that oxidative stabilization is a dehydrogenative process, where the hydrogen removed is predominantly aliphatic and the oxygen uptake is mainly in the form of C-O-C and C=O groups. The more aliphatic character of M-B accelerates the stabilization process with respect to M-A. M-B shows a higher weight gain and also a greater variety of oxygen-containing functional groups. As a result, the plasticity of M-B is more affected by changes in the stabilization temperature than that of M-A. Thus, the stabilization process is easier to control in the case of M-A. On carbonization, oxygen and hydrogen are removed from the stabilized samples and the carbons generated exhibit an increase in interlayer spacing and a decrease in crystallite size as the carbonization temperature increases. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.