Graphite () is a
crystalline
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...
allotrope (form) of the element
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
. It consists of many stacked
layers
Layer or layered may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Layers'' (Kungs album)
* ''Layers'' (Les McCann album)
* ''Layers'' (Royce da 5′9″ album)
*“Layers”, the title track of Royce da 5′9″’s sixth studio album
* Layer, a ...
of
graphene
Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...
, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under
standard conditions
Standard temperature and pressure (STP) or standard conditions for temperature and pressure are various standard sets of conditions for experimental measurements used to allow comparisons to be made between different sets of data. The most used ...
. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on a large scale (1.3million metric tons per year in 2022) for uses in many critical industries including
refractories
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
(50%),
lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...
(18%),
foundries
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
(10%), and
lubricants
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces ...
(5%), among others (17%). Graphite converts to
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
under extremely high pressure and temperature. Graphite's low cost, thermal and chemical inertness and characteristic conductivity of heat and electricity finds numerous applications in high energy and high temperature processes.
Types and varieties
Graphite can occur naturally or be produced synthetically. Natural graphite is obtained from naturally occurring geologic deposits and synthetic graphite is produced through human activity.
Natural
Graphite occurs naturally in
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
s that can be classified as either ''amorphous'' (microcrystalline) or ''crystalline'' (flake or lump/chip) which is determined by the ore
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
,
crystallinity
Crystallinity refers to the degree of structural order in a solid. In a crystal, the atoms or molecules are arranged in a regular, periodic manner. The degree of crystallinity has a large influence on hardness, density, transparency and diffusi ...
, and
grain size
Grain size (or particle size) is the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. The term may also be applied to other granular materials. This is different from the crystallite size, which ...
.
All naturally occurring graphite deposits are formed from the
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing Rock (geology), rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or Texture (geology), texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated ...
of
carbonaceous Carbonaceous refers to something relating to, containing, or composed of carbon. It is a descriptor used for the attribute of any substance rich in carbon. Particularly, ''carbonaceous hydrocarbons'' are very unsaturated, high- molecular-weight h ...
sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedim ...
, and the ore type is due to its geologic setting.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
that has been thermally metamorphosed is the typical source of amorphous graphite. Crystalline flake graphite is mined from
carbonaceous Carbonaceous refers to something relating to, containing, or composed of carbon. It is a descriptor used for the attribute of any substance rich in carbon. Particularly, ''carbonaceous hydrocarbons'' are very unsaturated, high- molecular-weight h ...
metamorphic rocks
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...
, while lump or chip graphite is mined from veins which occur in high-grade
metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
regions.
There are serious negative environmental impacts to graphite mining.
Synthetic
Synthetic graphite has high purity and is usually produced by the thermal
graphitization
Graphitization is a process of transforming a carbonaceous material, such as coal or the carbon in certain forms of iron alloys, into graphite.
Process
The graphitization process involves a restructuring of the molecular structure of the carbon ...
of
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
materials at temperatures in excess of 2,100 °C, most commonly through the
Acheson process
The Acheson process is a method of synthesizing silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite invented by Edward Goodrich Acheson and patented by him in 1896.
Process
The process consists of heating a mixture of silicon dioxide">Acheson founded the Carbo ...
.
The high temperatures are maintained for weeks, and are required not only to form the graphite from the precursor carbons but also to
vaporize
Vaporization (or vapo(u)risation) of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to vapor. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling. Evaporation is a surface phenomenon, whereas boiling is a bulk phenomen ...
any impurities that may be present, including hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, organics, and metals.
The resulting synthetic graphite is highly purein excess of 99.9% C puritybut typically has lower density, conductivity and a higher porosity than its natural equivalent.
Synthetic graphite can be formed into very large (centimeter-scale) flakes while maintaining its high purity, unlike almost all sources of natural graphite.
Synthetic graphite can also be formed by other methods including by
chemical vapor deposition
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high-quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films.
In typical CVD, the wafer (electro ...
from hydrocarbons at temperatures above , by decomposition of thermally unstable
carbide
In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece.
Interstitial / Metallic carbides
The carbides of th ...
s, or by
crystallization
Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized Atom, atoms or Molecule, molecules, i.e. a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regu ...
from metal melts
supersaturated
In physical chemistry, supersaturation occurs with a solution when the concentration of a solute exceeds the concentration specified by the value of solubility at equilibrium. Most commonly the term is applied to a solution of a solid in a ...
with
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
.
Research
Research and development efforts continue into new methods for the industrial production of graphite for a variety of applications, including
lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...
, refractories, and foundries, among others. Significant work has been done on graphitizing of traditionally non-graphitizable carbons. A company in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
utilizes forestry waste to produce what they have termed 'biographite' through a process referred to as thermo-catalytic
graphitization
Graphitization is a process of transforming a carbonaceous material, such as coal or the carbon in certain forms of iron alloys, into graphite.
Process
The graphitization process involves a restructuring of the molecular structure of the carbon ...
. Another group in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
uses a method referred to as
photocatalytic graphitization to produce highly crystalline highly pure graphite for lithium-ion batteries and other applications from a variety of carbon sources.
Natural
Occurrence
Graphite occurs in
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...
s as a result of the
reduction of
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...
carbon compounds during
metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing Rock (geology), rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or Texture (geology), texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated ...
. It also occurs in
igneous rock
Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
The magma can be derived from partial ...
s and in
meteorite
A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
s.
[ ]Minerals
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): M ...
associated with graphite include quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
, calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
, mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...
s and tourmaline
Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...
. The principal export sources of mined graphite are, in order of tonnage, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, and Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. Significant unexploited graphite resources also exist in Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
's Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands.
Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges:
* Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America
** ...
in the form of graphite-bearing schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
s.
In meteorite
A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
s, graphite occurs with troilite
Troilite () is a rare iron sulfide mineral with the simple formula of FeS. It is the iron-rich endmember of the pyrrhotite group. Pyrrhotite has the formula Fe(1−x)S (x = 0 to 0.2) which is iron deficient. As troilite lacks the iron deficiency ...
and silicate mineral
Silicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust.
In mineralogy, the crystalline forms of silica (silicon dio ...
s.[ Small graphitic crystals in meteoritic iron are called cliftonite.][ Some microscopic grains have distinctive isotopic compositions, indicating that they were formed before the ]Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
. They are one of about 12 known types of minerals that predate the Solar System and have also been detected in molecular cloud
A molecular cloud—sometimes called a stellar nursery if star formation is occurring within—is a type of interstellar cloud of which the density and size permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydrogen, ...
s. These minerals were formed in the ejecta
Ejecta (; ) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic materials (tephra) that came out of a explosive eruption, volcanic explosion and magma eruption v ...
when supernova
A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...
e exploded or low to intermediate-sized stars expelled their outer envelopes late in their lives. Graphite may be the second or third oldest mineral in the Universe.
Structure
Graphite consists of sheets of trigonal planar carbon. The individual layers are called graphene
Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...
. In each layer, each carbon atom is bonded to three other atoms forming a continuous layer of sp2 bonded carbon hexagons, like a honeycomb lattice with a bond length of 0.142 nm, and the distance between planes is 0.335 nm. Bonding between layers is relatively weak van der Waals bonds, which allows the graphene-like layers to be easily separated and to glide past each other. Electrical conductivity perpendicular to the layers is consequently about 1000 times lower.
There are two allotropic forms called ''alpha'' (hexagonal
In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°.
Regular hexagon
A regular hexagon is d ...
) and ''beta'' (rhombohedral
In geometry, a rhombohedron (also called a rhombic hexahedron or, inaccurately, a rhomboid) is a special case of a parallelepiped in which all six faces are congruent rhombus, rhombi. It can be used to define the rhombohedral lattice system, a Ho ...
), differing in terms of the stacking of the graphene layers: stacking in alpha graphite is ABA, as opposed to ABC stacking in the energetically less stable beta graphite. Rhombohedral graphite cannot occur in pure form.[ Natural graphite, or commercial natural graphite, contains 5 to 15% rhombohedral graphite] and this may be due to intensive milling. The alpha form can be converted to the beta form through shear forces, and the beta form reverts to the alpha form when it is heated to 1300 °C for four hours.
File:Graphite ambient STM.jpg, Scanning tunneling microscope
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of scanning probe microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in ...
image of graphite surface
File:Graphite-layers-side-3D-balls.png, Side view of ABA layer stacking
File:Graphite-layers-top-3D-balls.png, Plane view of layer stacking
File:Graphite-unit-cell-3D-balls.png, Alpha graphite's unit cell
In geometry, biology, mineralogy and solid state physics, a unit cell is a repeating unit formed by the vectors spanning the points of a lattice. Despite its suggestive name, the unit cell (unlike a unit vector
In mathematics, a unit vector i ...
Thermodynamics
The equilibrium pressure and temperature conditions for a transition between graphite and diamond is well established theoretically and experimentally. The pressure changes linearly between at and at (the diamond/graphite/liquid triple point
In thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which the three Phase (matter), phases (gas, liquid, and solid) of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium.. It is that temperature and pressure at ...
).
However, the phases have a wide region about this line where they can coexist. At normal temperature and pressure, and , the stable phase of carbon is graphite, but diamond is metastable
In chemistry and physics, metastability is an intermediate energetic state within a dynamical system other than the system's state of least energy.
A ball resting in a hollow on a slope is a simple example of metastability. If the ball is onl ...
and its rate of conversion to graphite is negligible. However, at temperatures above about , diamond rapidly converts to graphite. Rapid conversion of graphite to diamond requires pressures well above the equilibrium line: at , a pressure of is needed.[
]
Other properties
The acoustic and thermal
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
properties of graphite are highly anisotropic
Anisotropy () is the structural property of non-uniformity in different directions, as opposed to isotropy. An anisotropic object or pattern has properties that differ according to direction of measurement. For example, many materials exhibit ver ...
, since phonons
A phonon is a collective excitation in a periodic, Elasticity (physics), elastic arrangement of atoms or molecules in condensed matter physics, condensed matter, specifically in solids and some liquids. In the context of optically trapped objects ...
propagate quickly along the tightly bound planes, but are slower to travel from one plane to another. Graphite's high thermal stability and electrical and thermal conductivity facilitate its widespread use as electrodes and refractories in high temperature material processing applications. However, in oxygen-containing atmospheres graphite readily oxidizes to form carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
at temperatures of 700 °C and above.
Graphite is an electrical conductor
In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is an object or type of material that allows the flow of charge (electric current) in one or more directions. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors. The flow of negatively c ...
, hence useful in such applications as arc lamp
An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc).
The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...
s. It can conduct electricity due to the vast electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...
delocalization
In chemistry, delocalized electrons are electrons in a molecule, ion or solid metal that are not associated with a single atom or a covalent bond.IUPAC Gold Boo''delocalization''/ref>
The term delocalization is general and can have slightly diff ...
within the carbon layers (a phenomenon called aromaticity
In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugation alone. The e ...
). These valence electrons are free to move, so are able to conduct electricity. However, the electricity is primarily conducted within the plane of the layers. The conductive properties of powdered graphite allow its use as pressure sensor in carbon microphone
The carbon microphone, also known as carbon button microphone, button microphone, or carbon transmitter, is a type of microphone, a transducer that converts sound to an electrical audio signal. It consists of two metal plates separated by granu ...
s.
Graphite and graphite powder are valued in industrial applications for their self-lubricating and dry lubricating properties. However, the use of graphite is limited by its tendency to facilitate pitting corrosion
Pitting corrosion, or pitting, is a form of extremely localized corrosion that leads to the random creation of small holes in metal. The driving power for pitting corrosion is the depassivation of a small area, which becomes anodic (oxidation re ...
in some stainless steel
Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
, and to promote galvanic corrosion
Galvanic corrosion (also called bimetallic corrosion or dissimilar metal corrosion) is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact with another, different metal, when both in the prese ...
between dissimilar metals (due to its electrical conductivity). It is also corrosive to aluminium in the presence of moisture. For this reason, the US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
banned its use as a lubricant in aluminium aircraft, and discouraged its use in aluminium-containing automatic weapons. Even graphite pencil
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...
marks on aluminium parts may facilitate corrosion. Another high-temperature lubricant, hexagonal boron nitride
Boron nitride is a thermally and chemically resistant refractory compound of boron and nitrogen with the chemical formula B N. It exists in various crystalline forms that are isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice. The hexago ...
, has the same molecular structure as graphite. It is sometimes called ''white graphite'', due to its similar properties.
When a large number of crystallographic defects bind its planes together, graphite loses its lubrication properties and becomes what is known as pyrolytic graphite. It is also highly anisotropic, and diamagnetic
Diamagnetism is the property of materials that are repelled by a magnetic field; an applied magnetic field creates an induced magnetic field in them in the opposite direction, causing a repulsive force. In contrast, paramagnetic and ferromagn ...
, thus it will float in mid-air above a strong magnet. (If it is made in a fluidized bed at 1000–1300 °C then it is isotropic turbostratic, and is used in blood-contacting devices like mechanical heart valves and is called pyrolytic carbon
Pyrolytic carbon is a material similar to graphite, but with some covalent bonding between its graphene sheets as a result of imperfections in its production.
Pyrolytic carbon is man-made and is thought not to be found in nature.Ratner, Buddy D ...
, and is not diamagnetic. Pyrolytic graphite and pyrolytic carbon are often confused but are very different materials.)
For a long time graphite has been considered to be hydrophobic. However, recent studies using highly ordered pyrolytic graphite have shown that freshly clean graphite is hydrophilic (contact angle
The contact angle (symbol ) is the angle between a liquid surface and a solid surface where they meet. More specifically, it is the angle between the surface tangent on the liquid–vapor interface and the tangent on the solid–liquid interfac ...
of 70° approximately), and it becomes hydrophobic (contact angle of 95° approximately) due to airborne pollutants (hydrocarbons) present in the atmosphere. Those contaminants also alter the electric equipotential surface of graphite by creating domains with potential differences of up to 200 mV as measured with kelvin probe force microscopy. Such contaminants can be desorbed by increasing the temperature of graphite to approximately 50 °C or higher.
Natural and crystalline graphites are not often used in pure form as structural materials, due to their shear-planes, brittleness, and inconsistent mechanical properties.
History of use
In the 4th millennium BCE, during the Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
Age in southeastern Europe, the Marița culture used graphite in a ceramic paint for decorating pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
.
Sometime before 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which the locals found useful for marking sheep. During the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
(1558–1603), Borrowdale graphite was used as a refractory
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
material to line molds for cannonballs, resulting in rounder, smoother balls that could be fired farther, contributing to the strength of the English navy. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and soft, and could easily be cut into sticks. Because of its military importance, this unique mine and its production were strictly controlled by the Crown.
During the 19th century, graphite's uses greatly expanded to include stove polish, lubricants, paints, crucibles, foundry facings, and pencil
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...
s, a major factor in the expansion of educational tools during the first great rise of education for the masses. The British Empire controlled most of the world's production (especially from Ceylon), but production from Austrian, German, and American deposits expanded by mid-century. For example, the Dixon Crucible Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, founded by Joseph Dixon and partner Orestes Cleveland in 1845, opened mines in the Lake Ticonderoga district of New York, built a processing plant there, and a factory to manufacture pencils, crucibles and other products in New Jersey, described in the ''Engineering & Mining Journal'' 21 December 1878. The Dixon pencil is still in production.
The beginnings of the revolutionary froth flotation process are associated with graphite mining. Included in the ''E&MJ'' article on the Dixon Crucible Company is a sketch of the "floating tanks" used in the age-old process of extracting graphite. Because graphite is so light, the mix of graphite and waste was sent through a final series of water tanks where a cleaner graphite "floated" off, which left waste to drop out. In an 1877 patent, the two brothers Bessel (Adolph and August) of Dresden, Germany, took this "floating" process a step further and added a small amount of oil to the tanks and boiled the mix – an agitation or frothing step – to collect the graphite, the first steps toward the future flotation process. Adolph Bessel received the Wohler Medal for the patented process that upgraded the recovery of graphite to 90% from the German deposit. In 1977, the German Society of Mining Engineers and Metallurgists organized a special symposium dedicated to their discovery and, thus, the 100th anniversary of flotation.
In the United States, in 1885, Hezekiah Bradford of Philadelphia patented a similar process, but it is uncertain if his process was used successfully in the nearby graphite deposits of Chester County, Pennsylvania, a major producer by the 1890s. The Bessel process was limited in use, primarily because of the abundant cleaner deposits found around the globe, which needed not much more than hand-sorting to gather the pure graphite. The state of the art, , is described in the Canadian Department of Mines report on graphite mines and mining when Canadian deposits began to become important producers of graphite.[
]
Other names
Historically, graphite was called black lead or plumbago.[ Plumbago was commonly used in its massive mineral form. Both of these names arise from confusion with the similar-appearing ]lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
ores, particularly galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
. The Latin word for lead, '' plumbum'', gave its name to the English term for this grey metallic-sheened mineral and even to the leadworts or plumbago
''Plumbago'' is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus '' Ceratostig ...
s, plants with flowers that resemble this colour.
The term ''black lead'' usually refers to a powdered or processed graphite, matte black in color.
Abraham Gottlob Werner
Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chem ...
coined the name ''graphite'' ("writing stone") in 1789. He attempted to clear up the confusion between molybdena, plumbago and black lead after Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Carl Wilhelm Scheele (, ; 9 December 1742 – 21 May 1786) was a Swedish Pomerania, German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist.
Scheele discovered oxygen (although Joseph Priestley published his findings first), and identified the elements molybd ...
in 1778 proved that these were at least three different minerals. Scheele's analysis showed that the chemical compounds molybdenum sulfide (molybdenite
Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide, Mo S2. Similar in appearance and feel to graphite, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure. The atomic structure consists of a sheet of molybdenum at ...
), lead(II) sulfide
Lead(II) sulfide (also spelled '' sulphide'') is an inorganic compound with the formula Pb S. Galena is the principal ore and the most important compound of lead. It is a semiconducting material with niche uses.
Formation, basic properties, rel ...
(galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
) and graphite were three different soft black minerals.
Uses
Natural graphite is mostly used for refractories, batteries, steelmaking, expanded graphite, brake linings, foundry facings, and lubricants.[
]
Refractories
The use of graphite as a refractory
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
(heat-resistant) material began before 1900 with graphite crucible
A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...
s used to hold molten metal; this is now a minor part of refractories
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
. In the mid-1980s, the carbon-magnesite
Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula ( magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Occurrence
Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic r ...
brick became important, and a bit later the alumina-graphite shape. the order of importance is: alumina-graphite shapes, carbon-magnesite brick, Monolithics (gunning and ramming mixes), and then crucibles.
Crucibles began using very large flake graphite, and carbon-magnesite bricks requiring not quite so large flake graphite; for these and others there is now much more flexibility in the size of flake required, and amorphous graphite is no longer restricted to low-end refractories. Alumina-graphite shapes are used as continuous casting ware, such as nozzles and troughs, to convey the molten steel from ladle to mold, and carbon magnesite bricks line steel converters and electric-arc furnaces to withstand extreme temperatures. Graphite blocks are also used in parts of blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure.
In a ...
linings where the high thermal conductivity of the graphite is critical to ensuring adequate cooling of the bottom and hearth of the furnace. High-purity monolithics are often used as a continuous furnace lining instead of carbon-magnesite bricks.
The US and European refractories industry had a crisis in 2000–2003, with an indifferent market for steel and a declining refractory consumption per tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
of steel underlying firm buyouts and many plant closures. Many of the plant closures resulted from the acquisition of Harbison-Walker Refractories by RHI AG and some plants had their equipment auctioned off. Since much of the lost capacity was for carbon-magnesite brick, graphite consumption within the refractories area moved towards alumina-graphite shapes and Monolithics, and away from the brick. The major source of carbon-magnesite brick is now China. Almost all of the above refractories are used to make steel and account for 75% of refractory consumption; the rest is used by a variety of industries, such as cement.
According to the USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
, US natural graphite consumption in refractories comprised 12,500 tonnes in 2010.[
]
Batteries
The use of graphite in batteries has increased since the 1970s. Natural and synthetic graphite are used as an anode
An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...
material to construct electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...
s in major battery technologies.
The demand for batteries, primarily nickel–metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...
, caused a growth in demand for graphite in the late 1980s and early 1990s – a growth driven by portable electronics, such as portable CD player
A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital audio, digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such a ...
s and power tool
A power tool is a tool that is actuator, actuated by an additional engine, power source and mechanism (engineering), mechanism other than the solely manual labour, manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric ...
s. Laptop
A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...
s, mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
s, tablets, and smartphone products have increased the demand for batteries. Electric-vehicle batteries are anticipated to increase graphite demand. As an example, a lithium-ion battery in a fully electric Nissan Leaf
The is a battery-electric car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback until 2025, which since then has become a crossover SUV model. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to ''leading envir ...
contains nearly 40 kg of graphite.
Radioactive graphite removed from nuclear reactors has been investigated as a source of electricity for low-power applications. This waste is rich in carbon-14
Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
, which emits electrons through beta decay
In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron), transforming into an isobar of that nuclide. For example, beta decay of a neutron ...
, so it could potentially be used as the basis for a betavoltaic device
A betavoltaic device (betavoltaic cell or betavoltaic battery) is a type of nuclear battery that generates electric current from beta particles (electrons or positrons) emitted from a radioactive source, using semiconductor junctions. A common sou ...
. This concept is known as the diamond battery.
Graphite anode materials
Graphite is the "predominant anode material used today in lithium-ion batteries". Electric-vehicle (EV) batteries contain four basic components: anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator. While there is much focus on the cathode materialslithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, etc., the anode material used in virtually all EV batteries is graphite.
Steelmaking
Natural graphite in steelmaking
Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer process, Bessemer and open hearth furnace, Siemens-M ...
mostly goes into raising the carbon content in molten steel; it can also serve to lubricate the dies used to extrude hot steel. Carbon additives face competitive pricing from alternatives such as synthetic graphite powder, petroleum coke, and other forms of carbon. A carbon raiser is added to increase the carbon content of the steel to a specified level. An estimate based on USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
's graphite consumption statistics indicates that steelmakers in the US used 10,500 tonnes in this fashion in 2005.[
]
Brake linings
Natural amorphous and fine flake graphite are used in brake linings or brake shoes
A railway brake is a type of brake used on the cars of railway trains to enable deceleration, control acceleration (downhill) or to keep them immobile when parked. While the basic principle is similar to that on road vehicle usage, operational ...
for heavier (nonautomotive) vehicles, and became important with the need to substitute for asbestos
Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
. This use has been important for quite some time, but nonasbestos organic (NAO) compositions are beginning to reduce graphite's market share. A brake-lining industry shake-out with some plant closures has not been beneficial, nor has an indifferent automotive market. According to the USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
, US natural graphite consumption in brake linings was 6,510 tonnes in 2005.[
]
Foundry facings and lubricants
A foundry-facing mold wash is a water-based paint of amorphous or fine flake graphite. Painting the inside of a mold with it and letting it dry leaves a fine graphite coat that will ease the separation of the object cast after the hot metal has cooled. Graphite lubricants
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces ...
are specialty items for use at very high or very low temperatures, as forging die lubricant, an antiseize agent, a gear lubricant for mining machinery, and to lubricate locks. Having low-grit graphite, or even better, no-grit graphite (ultra high purity), is highly desirable. It can be used as a dry powder, in water or oil, or as colloidal graphite (a permanent suspension in a liquid). An estimate based on USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
graphite consumption statistics indicates that 2,200 tonnes were used in this fashion in 2005.[ Metal can also be impregnated into graphite to create a self-lubricating alloy for application in extreme conditions, such as bearings for machines exposed to high or low temperatures.
]
Everyday use
Pencils
The ability to leave marks on paper and other objects gave graphite its name, given in 1789 by German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner
Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chem ...
. It stems from ''γράφειν ("graphein")'', meaning ''to write'' or ''draw'' in Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
.[graphite](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
From the 16th century, all pencils were made with leads of English natural graphite, but modern pencil lead is most commonly a mix of powdered graphite and clay; it was invented by Nicolas-Jacques Conté
Nicolas-Jacques Conté (; 4 August 1755 – 6 December 1805) was a French inventor of the modern pencil.
He was born at Saint-Céneri-près-Sées (now Aunou-sur-Orne) in Normandy and distinguished himself for his mechanical genius, which was of ...
in 1795. It is chemically unrelated to the metal lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
, whose ores had a similar appearance, hence the continuation of the name. Plumbago is another older term for natural graphite used for drawing
Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...
, typically as a lump of the mineral without a wood casing. The term plumbago drawing
Plumbago drawings are graphite drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries. There was a group of artists whose work in plumbago (mineral), plumbago is remarkable for their portraits drawn with finely pointed pieces of graphite and on vellum. These w ...
is normally restricted to 17th and 18th-century works, mostly portraits.
Today, pencils are still a small but significant market for natural graphite. Around 7% of the 1.1 million tonnes produced in 2011 was used to make pencils. Low-quality amorphous graphite is used and sourced mainly from China.[
In art, graphite is typically used to create detailed and precise drawings, as it allows for a wide range of values (light to dark) to be achieved. It can also be used to create softer, more subtle lines and shading. Graphite is popular among artists because it is easy to control, easy to erase, and produces a clean, professional look. It is also relatively inexpensive and widely available. Many artists use graphite in conjunction with other media, such as charcoal or ink, to create a range of effects and textures in their work. Graphite of various hardness or softness results in different qualities and tones when used as an ]artistic medium
Media, or mediums, are the core types of material (or related other tools) used by an artist, composer, designer, etc. to create a work of art. For example, a visual artist may broadly use the media of painting or sculpting, which themselves have ...
.
Pinewood derby
Graphite is probably the most-used lubricant in pinewood derbies.
Other uses
Natural graphite has found uses in zinc-carbon batteries, electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
brushes, and various specialized applications. Railroads would often mix powdered graphite with waste oil
Waste oil is defined as any petroleum-based or synthetic oil that, through contamination, has become unsuitable for its original purpose due to the presence of impurities or loss of original properties.
Differentiating between "waste oil" and "us ...
or linseed oil to create a heat-resistant protective coating for the exposed portions of a steam locomotive's boiler, such as the smokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is ...
or lower part of the firebox. The Scope soldering iron
The "Scope" soldering iron is a tool for soldering with lead-tin alloys, made in Australia since 1950, and intended for occasional or intermittent use. It has the virtue of quickly coming up to soldering temperature (~300C) and delivering conside ...
uses a graphite tip as its heating element.
Expanded graphite
Expanded graphite is made by immersing natural flake graphite in a bath of chromic acid
Chromic acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is also a jargon for a solution formed by the addition of sulfuric acid to aqueous solutions of dichromate. It consists at least in part of chromium trioxide.
The term "chromic ...
, then concentrated sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...
, which forces the crystal lattice planes apart, thus expanding the graphite. The expanded graphite can be used to make graphite foil or used directly as a "hot top" compound to insulate molten metal in a ladle or red-hot steel ingots and decrease heat loss, or as firestop
A firestop or fire-stopping is a form of passive fire protection that is used to seal around openings and between joints in a fire-resistance-rated wall or floor assembly. Firestops are designed to maintain the fire-resistance rating of a wall ...
s fitted around a fire door
A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating (sometimes referred to as a ''fire protection rating'' for closures) used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of ...
or in sheet metal collars surrounding plastic pipe (during a fire, the graphite expands and chars to resist fire penetration and spread), or to make high-performance gasket material for high-temperature use. After being made into graphite foil, the foil is machined and assembled into the bipolar plates in fuel cells
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in req ...
.
The foil is made into heat sinks for laptop computers
A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a clamshell form factor with a flat-panel screen on the inside of the upper lid and an alph ...
which keeps them cool while saving weight, and is made into a foil laminate that can be used in valve packings or made into gaskets. Old-style packings are now a minor member of this grouping: fine flake graphite in oils or greases for uses requiring heat resistance. A GAN estimate of current US natural graphite consumption in this end-use is 7,500 tonnes.[
]
Intercalated graphite
Graphite forms intercalation compounds
Intercalation is the reversible inclusion or insertion of a molecule (or ion) into layered materials with layered structures. Examples are found in graphite intercalation compound, graphite and transition metal dichalcogenides.
:
Examples Graphi ...
with some metals and small molecules. In these compounds, the host molecule or atom gets "sandwiched" between the graphite layers, resulting in a type of compound with variable stoichiometry. A prominent example of an intercalation compound is potassium graphite, denoted by the formula KC8. Some graphite intercalation compounds are superconductors
Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ordinary metallic conductor, whose resistance decreases ...
. The highest transition temperature (by June 2009) ''T''c = 11.5 K is achieved in CaC6, and it further increases under applied pressure (15.1 K at 8 GPa). Graphite's ability to intercalate lithium ions without significant damage from swelling is what makes it the dominant anode material in lithium-ion batteries.
Mining, beneficiation, and milling
Graphite is mined by both open pit
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth.
Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ...
and underground methods. Graphite usually needs beneficiation. This may be carried out by hand-picking the pieces of gangue (rock) and hand-screening the product or by crushing the rock and floating out the graphite. Beneficiation by flotation encounters the difficulty that graphite is very soft and "marks" (coats) the particles of gangue
Gangue () is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. It is thus distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or materials overlying an ore or mineral body that are di ...
. This makes the "marked" gangue particles float off with the graphite, yielding impure concentrate. There are two ways of obtaining a commercial concentrate or product: repeated regrinding and floating (up to seven times) to purify the concentrate, or by acid leaching (dissolving) the gangue with hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...
(for a silicate gangue) or hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...
(for a carbonate gangue).
In milling, the incoming graphite products and concentrates can be ground before being classified (sized or screened), with the coarser flake size fractions (below 8 mesh, 8–20 mesh, 20–50 mesh) carefully preserved, and then the carbon contents are determined. Some standard blends can be prepared from the different fractions, each with a certain flake size distribution and carbon content. Custom blends can also be made for individual customers who want a certain flake size distribution and carbon content. If flake size is unimportant, the concentrate can be ground more freely. Typical end products include a fine powder for use as a slurry in oil drilling
An oil well is a drillhole boring (earth), boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produ ...
and coatings for foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
molds, carbon raiser in the steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
industry (Synthetic graphite powder and powdered petroleum coke can also be used as carbon raiser). Environmental impacts from graphite mills consist of air pollution including fine particulate exposure of workers and also soil contamination
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activit ...
from powder spillages leading to heavy metal contamination of soil.
According to the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
(USGS), world production of natural graphite in 2016 was 1,200,000 tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s, of which the following major exporters are: China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(780,000 t), India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(170,000 t), Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
(80,000 t), Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
(32,000 t) and North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
(6,000 t). Graphite is not currently mined in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, but there are many historical mine sites including ones in Alabama, Montana, and in the Adirondacks
The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York (state), New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the hi ...
of NY. Westwater Resources
Westwater Resources, Inc. (WWR), is an explorer and developer of US-based mineral resources essential to clean energy production. The company has operated some uranium facilities in the past, however they have recently been exploring graphite an ...
is in the development stages of creating a pilot plant for their Coosa Graphite Mine near Sylacauga, Alabama
Sylacauga is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,578.
Sylacauga is known for its fine white marble bedrock. This was discovered shortly after settlers moved into the area and has bee ...
. U.S. production of synthetic graphite in 2010 was 134,000 t valued at $1.07 billion.
Occupational safety
Potential health effects include:
*Inhalation
Inhalation (or inspiration) happens when air or other gases enter the lungs.
Inhalation of air
Inhalation of air, as part of the cycle of breathing, is a vital process for all human life. The process is autonomic (though there are exceptions ...
: No inhalation hazard in manufactured and shipped state. Dust and fumes generated from the material can enter the body by inhalation. High concentrations of dust and fumes may irritate the throat and respiratory system and cause coughing. Frequent inhalation of fume/dust over a long period of time increases the risk of developing lung diseases. Prolonged and repeated overexposure to dust can lead to pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust (for example, ash dust, lead particles, pollen grains etc) has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silico ...
. Pre-existing pulmonary disorders, such as emphysema
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
, may possibly be aggravated by prolonged exposure to high concentrations of graphite dusts.
*Eye contact: Dust in the eyes will cause irritation. Exposed may experience eye tearing, redness, and discomfort.
*Skin contact: Under normal conditions of intended use, this material does not pose a risk to health. Dust may irritate skin.
*Ingestion
Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism. In animals, it normally is accomplished by taking in a substance through the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract, such as through eating or drinking. In single-celled organisms, inge ...
: Not relevant, due to the form of the product in its manufactured and shipped state. However, ingestion of dusts generated during working operations may cause nausea and vomiting.
*Potential physical / chemical effects: Bulk material is non-combustible. The material may form dust and can accumulate electrostatic charges, which may cause an electrical spark (ignition source). High dust levels may create potential for explosion.
United States
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...
(OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit
The permissible exposure limit (PEL or OSHA PEL) is a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a chemical substance or physical agents such as high level noise. Permissible exposure limits were established by the Occupational ...
) for graphite exposure in the workplace as a time weighted average (TWA) of 15million particles per cubic foot (1.5 mg/m3) over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the List of United States federal agencies, United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related occ ...
(NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit
A recommended exposure limit (REL) is an occupational exposure limit that has been recommended by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The REL is a level that NIOSH believes would be protective of worker safety ...
(REL) of TWA 2.5 mg/m3 respirable dust over an 8-hour workday. At levels of 1250 mg/m3, graphite is immediately dangerous to life and health.
Recycling
The most common way of recycling graphite occurs when synthetic graphite electrodes are either manufactured and pieces are cut off or lathe turnings are discarded for reuse, or the electrode (or other materials) are used all the way down to the electrode holder. A new electrode replaces the old one, but a sizeable piece of the old electrode remains. This is crushed and sized, and the resulting graphite powder is mostly used to raise the carbon content of molten steel.
Graphite-containing refractories
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
are sometimes also recycled, but often are not due to their low graphite content: the largest-volume items, such as carbon-magnesite bricks that contain only 15–25% graphite, usually contain too little graphite to be worthwhile to recycle. However, some recycled carbon–magnesite brick is used as the basis for furnace-repair materials, and also crushed carbon–magnesite brick is used in slag conditioners.
While crucible
A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...
s have a high graphite content, the volume of crucibles used and then recycled is very small.
A high-quality flake graphite product that closely resembles natural flake graphite can be made from steelmaking kish. Kish is a large-volume near-molten waste skimmed from the molten iron feed to a basic oxygen furnace and consists of a mix of graphite (precipitated out of the supersaturated iron), lime-rich slag, and some iron. The iron is recycled on-site, leaving a mixture of graphite and slag. The best recovery process uses hydraulic classification (which utilizes a flow of water to separate minerals by specific gravity: graphite is light and settles nearly last) to get a 70% graphite rough concentrate. Leaching this concentrate with hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...
gives a 95% graphite product with a flake size ranging from 10 mesh
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. It serves as a thesaurus of index terms that facilitates searching. Created and updated by th ...
(2 mm) down.
History of synthetic
Invention of a production process
In 1893, Charles Street of Le Carbone discovered a process for making artificial graphite. In the mid-1890s, Edward Goodrich Acheson
Edward Goodrich Acheson (March 9, 1856 – July 6, 1931) was an American chemist. Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, he was the inventor of the Acheson process, which is still used to make silicon carbide (carborundum). (1856–1931) accidentally invented another way to produce synthetic graphite after synthesizing Silicon carbide">carborundum
Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder ...
(also called silicon carbide). He discovered that overheating carborundum, as opposed to pure carbon, produced almost pure graphite. While studying the effects of high temperature on carborundum, he had found that silicon vaporizes at about , leaving the carbon behind in graphitic carbon. This graphite became valuable as a lubricant.[
Acheson's technique for producing silicon carbide and graphite is named the ]Acheson process
The Acheson process is a method of synthesizing silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite invented by Edward Goodrich Acheson and patented by him in 1896.
Process
The process consists of heating a mixture of silicon dioxide">Acheson founded the Carbo ...
. In 1896, Acheson received a patent for his method of synthesizing graphite, and in 1897 started commercial production.[ The Acheson Graphite Co. was formed in 1899.
Synthetic graphite can also be prepared from polyimide and then commercialized.
]
Scientific research
Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) is the highest-quality synthetic form of graphite. It is used in scientific research, in particular, as a length standard for the calibration of scanning probe microscope
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. SPM was founded in 1981, with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging ...
s.
Electrodes
Graphite electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...
s carry the electricity that melts scrap iron and steel, and sometimes direct-reduced iron (DRI), in electric arc furnace
An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a Industrial furnace, furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc.
Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundry, foundries for producin ...
s, which are the vast majority of steel furnaces. They are made from petroleum coke
Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke, pet coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refinery, oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as Coke (fuel), cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in parti ...
after it is mixed with coal tar pitch. They are extruded and shaped, then baked to carbonize the binder
Binder may refer to:
Businesses
* Binder FBM, a former German jewelry manufactory
* Binder Dijker Otte & Co., the expansion of "BDO" in BDO International
Computing
* Binder Project, package and share interactive, reproducible environments
* Fil ...
(pitch). This is finally graphitized by heating it to temperatures approaching , at which the carbon atoms arrange into graphite. They can vary in size up to long and in diameter. An increasing proportion of global steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
is made using electric arc furnaces, and the electric arc furnace itself is becoming more efficient, making more steel per tonne of electrode. An estimate based on USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
data indicates that graphite electrode consumption was in 2005.[
Electrolytic ]aluminium smelting
Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery.
This is an electroly ...
also uses graphitic carbon electrodes. On a much smaller scale, synthetic graphite electrodes are used in electrical discharge machining
Electrical discharge machining (EDM), also known as spark machining, spark eroding, die sinking, wire burning or wire erosion, is a metal
fabrication process whereby a desired shape is obtained by using electrical discharges (sparks). Material is ...
(EDM), commonly to make injection mold
Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...
s for plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
s.
Powder and scrap
The powder is made by heating powdered petroleum coke
Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke, pet coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refinery, oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as Coke (fuel), cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in parti ...
above the temperature of graphitization, sometimes with minor modifications. The graphite scrap comes from pieces of unusable electrode material (in the manufacturing stage or after use) and lathe turnings, usually after crushing and sizing. Most synthetic graphite powder goes to carbon raising in steel (competing with natural graphite), with some used in batteries and brake linings. According to the United States Geographical Survey, US synthetic graphite powder and scrap production were in 2001 (latest data).[
It is possible to create battery-grade graphite by recycling the numerous fines from battery production. The process involves spray drying the fines over petroleum pitch with a binder and cross-linking agent, then drying them.
]
Neutron moderator
Special grades of synthetic graphite, such as Gilsocarbon, also find use as a matrix and neutron moderator
In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, ideally without capturing any, leaving them as thermal neutrons with only minimal (thermal) kinetic energy. These thermal neutrons are immensely ...
within nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
s. Its low neutron cross-section
In nuclear physics, the concept of a neutron cross section is used to express the likelihood of interaction between an incident neutron and a target nucleus. The neutron cross section σ can be defined as the area in cm2 for which the number of ...
also recommends it for use in proposed fusion reactor
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices ...
s. Care must be taken that reactor-grade graphite is free of neutron absorbing materials such as boron
Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...
, widely used as the seed electrode in commercial graphite deposition systems – this caused the failure of the Germans' World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
graphite-based nuclear reactors. Since they could not isolate the difficulty they were forced to use far more expensive heavy water
Heavy water (deuterium oxide, , ) is a form of water (molecule), water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium ( or D, also known as ''heavy hydrogen'') rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (, also called ''protium'') that makes up most o ...
moderators. Graphite used for nuclear reactors is often referred to as nuclear graphite
Nuclear graphite is any grade of graphite, usually synthetic graphite, manufactured for use as a moderator or reflector within a nuclear reactor. Graphite is an important material for the construction of both historical and modern nuclear reacto ...
. Herbert G. McPherson, a Berkeley trained physicist at National Carbon, a division of Union Carbide, was key in confirming a conjecture of Leo Szilard that boron impurities even in "pure" graphite were responsible for a neutron absorption cross-section in graphite that compromised U-235 chain reactions. McPherson was aware of the presence of impurities in graphite because, with the use of Technicolor in cinematography, the spectra of graphite electrode arcs used in movie projectors required impurities to enhance emission of light in the red region to display warmer skin tones on the screen. Thus, had it not been for color movies, chances are that the first sustained natural U chain reaction would have required a heavy water moderated reactor.
Other uses
Graphite (carbon) fiber and carbon nanotube
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with a diameter in the nanometre range ( nanoscale). They are one of the allotropes of carbon. Two broad classes of carbon nanotubes are recognized:
* ''Single-walled carbon nanotubes'' (''S ...
s are also used in carbon fiber reinforced plastics, and in heat-resistant composites such as reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC). Commercial structures made from carbon fiber graphite composites include fishing rod
A fishing rod or fishing pole is a long, thin rod used by angling, anglers to fishing, catch fish by manipulating a fishing line, line ending in a fish hook, hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic ...
s, golf club shafts, bicycle frames, sports car body panels, the fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, wh ...
and pool
Pool may refer to:
Bodies of water
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a roc ...
cue sticks and have been successfully employed in reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
. The mechanical properties of carbon fiber graphite-reinforced plastic composites and grey cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
are strongly influenced by the role of graphite in these materials. In this context, the term "(100%) graphite" is often loosely used to refer to a pure mixture of carbon reinforcement and resin
A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...
, while the term "composite" is used for composite materials
A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...
with additional ingredients.
Modern smokeless powder
Finnish smokeless powder
Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...
is coated in graphite to prevent the buildup of static charge
Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material. The charge remains until it can move away by an electric current or electrical discharge. The word "static" is used to differentiate it from curren ...
.
Graphite has been used in at least three radar absorbent material
In materials science, radiation-absorbent material (RAM) is a material which has been specially designed and shaped to absorb incident RF radiation (also known as non-ionising radiation), as effectively as possible, from as many incident direc ...
s. It was mixed with rubber in Sumpf and Schornsteinfeger, which were used on U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
snorkels to reduce their radar cross section
Radar cross-section (RCS), denoted σ, also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy b ...
. It was also used in tiles on early F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an officially retired American single-seat, subsonic, twin-engined, stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was ...
stealth strike fighters.
Graphite composites are used as absorber for high-energy particles, for example in the Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...
beam dump.
Glassworking tools are often made from graphite since it will not stick to hot molten glass, unlike metal tools and moulds which require coatings or lubricants, which are themselves often graphite-based. Automated glassworking machines make significant use of graphite for handling the molten glass and freshly formed items.
Research and innovation
Globally, over 60,000 patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
families in graphite technologies were filed from 2012 to 2021. Patents were filed by applicants from over 60 countries and regions. However, graphite-related patent families originated predominantly from just a few countries. China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
was the top contributor with more than 47,000 patent families, accounting for four in every five graphite patent families filed worldwide in the last decade. Among other leading countries were Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the Russian Federation
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Together, these top five countries of applicant origin accounted for 95 percent of global patenting output related to graphite.
Among the different graphite sources, flake graphite
Graphite () is a crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard co ...
has the highest number of patent families, with more than 5,600 filed worldwide from 2012 to 2021. Supported by active research
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
from its commercial entities and research institutions, China is the country most actively exploiting flake graphite and has contributed to 85 percent of global patent filings in this area.
At the same time, innovations exploring new synthesis methods and uses for artificial graphite are gaining interest worldwide, as countries seek to exploit the superior material qualities associated with this man-made substance and reduce reliance on the natural material. Patenting activity is strongly led by commercial entities, particularly world-renowned battery manufacturers and anode
An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...
material suppliers, with patenting interest focused on battery anode applications.
The exfoliation process for bulk graphite, which involves separating the carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
layers within graphite, has been extensively studied between 2012 and 2021. Specifically, ultrasonic and thermal exfoliation have been the two most popular approaches worldwide, with 4,267 and 2,579 patent families, respectively, significantly more than for either the chemical or electrochemical alternatives.
Global patenting activity relating to ultrasonic exfoliation has decreased over the years, indicating that this low-cost technique has become well established. Thermal exfoliation is a more recent process. Compared to ultrasonic exfoliation, this fast and solvent-free thermal approach has attracted greater commercial interest.
As the most widespread anode material for lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...
, graphite has drawn significant attention worldwide for use in battery applications. With over 8,000 patent families filed from 2012 to 2021, battery applications were a key driver of global graphite-related inventions. Innovations in this area are led by battery manufacturers or anode suppliers who have amassed sizable patent portfolios focused strongly on battery performance improvements based on graphite anode
An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...
innovation. Besides industry players, academia and research institutions have been an essential source of innovation in graphite anode technologies.
Graphite for polymer
A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
applications was an innovation hot topic from 2012 to 2021, with over 8,000 patent families recorded worldwide. However, in recent years, in the top countries of applicant origin in this area, including China, Japan and the United States of America (US), patent filings have decreased.
Graphite for manufacturing ceramics represents another area of intensive research, with over 6,000 patent families registered in the last decade alone. Specifically, graphite for refractory
In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...
accounted for over one-third of ceramics-related graphite patent families in China and about one-fifth in the rest of the world. Other important graphite applications include high-value ceramic materials such as carbide
In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece.
Interstitial / Metallic carbides
The carbides of th ...
s for specific industries, ranging from electrical and electronics, aerospace and precision engineering to military and nuclear applications.
Carbon brushes
A brush or carbon brush is an electrical contact, often made from specially prepared carbon, which conducts current between stationary and rotating parts (the latter most commonly being a rotating shaft) of an electrical machine. Typical applic ...
represent a long-explored graphite application area. There have been few inventions in this area over the last decade, with less than 300 patent families filed from 2012 to 2021, very significantly less than between 1992 and 2011.
Biomedical
Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine) , sensor
A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...
, and conductive ink are emerging application areas for graphite that have attracted interest from both academia and commercial entities, including renowned universities and multinational corporations. Typically for an emerging technology
Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies are o ...
area, related patent families were filed by various organizations without any players dominating. As a result, the top applicants have a small number of inventions
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, unlike in well-explored areas, where they will have strong technology accumulation and large patent portfolios. The innovation focus of these three emerging areas is highly scattered and can be diverse, even for a single applicant. However, recent inventions are seen to leverage the development of graphite nanomaterials
Nanomaterials describe, in principle, chemical substances or materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale).
Nanomaterials research takes a materials science ...
, particularly graphite nanocomposite
Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm) or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.
In the ...
s and graphene
Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...
.
See also
* Balama mine
*Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
*Carbon nanotube
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with a diameter in the nanometre range ( nanoscale). They are one of the allotropes of carbon. Two broad classes of carbon nanotubes are recognized:
* ''Single-walled carbon nanotubes'' (''S ...
* Exfoliated graphite nano-platelets
*Fullerene
A fullerene is an allotropes of carbon, allotrope of carbon whose molecules consist of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to six atoms. The molecules may ...
*Graphene
Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...
* Graphitizing and non-graphitizing carbons
*Intumescent
An intumescent substance is one that swells as a result of heat exposure, leading to an increase in volume and decrease in density. Intumescence refers to the process of swelling. Intumescent materials are typically used in passive fire protectio ...
*Lonsdaleite
Lonsdaleite (named in honour of Kathleen Lonsdale), also called hexagonal diamond in reference to the crystal structure, is an allotrope of carbon with a hexagonal lattice, as opposed to the cubical lattice of conventional diamond. It is found ...
*Passive fire protection
Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor- ...
*Pyrolytic carbon
Pyrolytic carbon is a material similar to graphite, but with some covalent bonding between its graphene sheets as a result of imperfections in its production.
Pyrolytic carbon is man-made and is thought not to be found in nature.Ratner, Buddy D ...
Sources
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Battery Grade Graphite
Graphite at Minerals.net
Mineral & Exploration
– Map of World Graphite Mines and Producers 2012
Mindat w/ locations
Video lecture on the properties of graphite by M. Heggie
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
{{Authority control
Native element minerals
Non-petroleum based lubricants
Dry lubricants
Visual arts materials
Refractory materials
Electrical conductors
Hexagonal minerals
Minerals in space group 186
Minerals in space group 194
Industrial minerals
Semimetals