48 Graphite Facts: Did You Know These Facts About The Carbon Element?

Graphite is used in many industries including manufacturing, the production of electric components, and so on

Graphite got its name in 1789 from a German geologist after the Greek word 'graphein'. Graphite's physical properties are that it is opaque, soft, and slippery in nature.

Due to its different structures, its properties are very different than other carbon compounds with the same chemical composition such as diamond and fullerenes.

It is a good electrical conductor and also slippery in nature and these two attributes are the reason why graphite is used in so many products. A great portion of natural graphite obtained each year is used in making graphite pencils.

Even after being used for a few centuries, there are still some fields where graphite is still the most optimum material and we are yet to find better substitutes.

Graphite remained a big, unexplained, exceptional case in chemistry because despite being a pure carbon compound, and a non-metal, it turned out to be a very good conductor of electricity, making it a lustrous compound.

Graphite can be obtained through a number of steps and the method we choose to produce graphite also defines the purity that the final result will have.

In this article, we will be talking about some facts related to graphite that most of us are usually unaware of.

Facts About Graphite

We all know about graphite as the substance used in our pencils, but there is much more to it. Graphite is a very unique and exceptional case among non-metals. In this section, we will be discussing some facts about graphite that make it a one-of-a-kind compound.

• When carbon atoms are subjected to pressure and heat in the Earth's crust and in the upper mantle, the mineral obtained is called graphite.
• The pressure should be in the range of 75,000 pounds per square inch and the temperature must be in the range of 1380 F (748 C) in order to produce graphite, as it is extremely resistant to heat.
• Long ago, limestones and organic-rich shales were subjected to pressure and heat of the regional metamorphism. It is the result of this process that means we get to see most of the graphite we see on the surface today in form of tiny crystals and flake graphite.
• Abraham Gottlob Werner was a German geologist who named graphite in 1789 for its ability to leave marks on papers and even other objects.
• The word 'graphite' comes from the term 'graphein' which means 'to draw/write' in ancient Greek.
• According to reports, Turkey had the most natural graphite deposits in the world, even surpassing China and Brazil.
• Modern pencils were invented by Nicholas-Jacques Conte in 1795 who was a scientist in the army of Napolean Bonaparte.
• However, it was not until 1900 that graphite began to be used as a refractory material.
• Today, pencils are not a vast but crucial market for natural graphite consumption, and about 7% of 1.1 million tonnes of natural graphite is used solely in producing pencils.
• Since graphite is conductive as well as slippery, graphite is largely used in the production of generator bushes.
• Graphite is extremely soft, has a pretty low specific gravity, cleaves with subtle pressure, is very resistant to heat, and is almost inert to other elements. These properties are the reason behind graphite's large-scale use in metallurgy and manufacturing.
• The only non-metal that can conduct electricity is graphite because of the presence of delocalized electrons in it.
• Natural graphite is divided into three main categories: flake graphite, amorphous graphite, and a highly crystalline form of graphite.
• Graphite blocks are widely used in metallurgy, chemistry, electronics, and other fields.
• Most graphite available today is not mined but manufactured from coal in electrical furnaces.
• Natural, as well as synthetically produced graphite, is used in the construction of anodes of most battery technologies.
• Although graphite and diamond have appeared to be completely different from each other, they are actually polymorphs (polymorph is the term used to refer to minerals with the same chemical composition, carbon in this case) but have different crystal structures.
• It is because of this difference in their crystal structures that graphite and diamond have so much difference in appearance and properties.

Graphite's Uses

We all consider graphite as a cheap writing material, but in reality, it is used in many different fields such as electronics, metallurgy, and so on. In this segment, we will be discussing some more uses of graphite that you might be unaware of.

• Graphite, as we all know, has been used as writing material for centuries. Even today, the pencils that we use are a mixture of clay and graphite.
• Graphite is one of the main components in lubricants such as grease.
• Graphite is also used in `car clutches and brakes for their smooth functioning.
• Due to its high tolerance to heat and unchangeability, graphite is commonly used as a refractory material. It has also found its use in the manufacturing industry and is also helpful in the production of glass and steel, and even in the processing of iron.
• Crystalline flake graphite is used in the production of carbon electrodes, plates needed in dry cell batteries, and brushes used in electric generators.
• Natural graphite is even processed into synthetic graphite and is very useful in lithium-ion batteries.
• In the past 30 years, the use of graphite in batteries has increased. Almost twice as much graphite as lithium carbonate is required in a lithium-ion battery.
• The batteries in electric vehicles have also increased the demand for graphite in the market.
• Railways mix waste oil with graphite to create heat-resistant protective covers for the boiler's portions exposed in a steam locomotive, such as on the lower part of the firebox or smokebox.
• Graphene sheets made from graphite are also widely used because they are 10 times lighter and 100 times stronger than steel.
• This derivative of graphite is even used in producing strong and lightweight sports equipment.
• Graphite was also used in the early years of nuclear reactors for its high resistance to heat and it slows neutrons, which helped in moderating chain reactions.
• Graphite crucibles (crucibles are containers used in furnaces to hold hot metal) are used for melting and storing molten steel because it has a very high melting point and is also inert to a great extent.

Graphite's Properties

Graphite has many unique properties and in this section, we will be discussing the properties of graphite that make it so unique.

• Graphite is a very good conductor of electricity because its free delocalized electrons are free to move throughout the sheet and work as charge carriers.
• Graphite is also insoluble in water and organic solvents. The reason behind this is that attraction between carbon atoms and solvent molecules is not strong enough to replace the covalent bonds between carbon atoms present in graphite.
• The melting point of graphite is 6600 F (3648 C).
• Graphite also has the ability to absorb high-speed neutrons.
• Graphite is a greyish black compound and is completely opaque.
• Graphite is non-inflammable in nature.
• The density of graphite is much lower than its polymorph, diamond.
• Graphite has a layered, planar structure and in each layer, constitute carbon atoms are connected to each other in a hexagonal lattice. These links are extremely strong but the connection between two individual layers is not that strong.
• For being a high-grade form and up to a limit, staying in a stable form, graphite is used in thermochemistry as a standard form for explaining the compounds' heat formation made from carbon.

Graphite's Production Process

Graphite is obtained through two methods, depending on the source and quality of graphite needed. In this section, we will be talking about the production process of graphite.

• Graphite is found in two forms, natural and synthetic graphite.
• Natural graphite occurs as a result of a combination of igneous and metamorphic processes.
• These deposits are mined in many different countries including Brazil, China, Madagascar, and Canada.
• However, synthetic graphite can be created by heating a variety of carbon-containing substances such as coal, acetylene, and petrochemicals. On superheating, the carbon atoms start to rearrange themselves and form graphite.
• Synthetic graphite has more purity than naturally occurring graphite.
• The strongest synthetic graphite powder is manufactured using the process of hot isostatic pressing (HIP).
• This process makes it perfect for use in solar energy applications,
• This HIP process is actually used to convert powdered graphite in solid-state to fully dense components.
• This results in better physical properties than the ones achieved by traditional melting.