LOW TEMPERATURE SYNTHESIS OF GRAPHITE FROM IRON CARBIDE

Synthesis of graphite by extraction of iron from iron carbide by chlorine is discussed in this work. This process is attractive because it can produce well-ordered graphite at temperatures as low as 600°C, providing an opportunity for low-temperature solid-state synthesis of graphitic materials for batteries. The composition of the reaction products under equilibrium conditions was determined by thermodynamic simulation, and the initial process parameters such as temperature and chlorine/carbide molar ratio were selected accordingly. Crystalline parameters of the graphitic reaction products, such as the interlayer spacing and crystalline sizes, were calculated from X-ray diffraction measurements.