Catalytic Graphitization of Carbon by Iron

Abstract

It was studied by using Fe powder that the effects of the kind of carbon on the catalytic graphitization.
Raw carbon materials used in this experiment were three kinds of carbons with various graphitizability from coal tar pitch and typical non-graphitizable carbon from phenol formaldehyde resin. The raw carbons were heated up to 900°C and then were crushed to under 100 mesh. The additional amounts of Fe powder (under 325 mesh) were 1, 3, and 5 wt% respectively. The mixture of the carbon and Fe powder were heat-treated at the temperature range from 1200°C to 1800°C for 1 hour under N₂ gas.
Three kinds of effects were caused by the addition of Fe powder, that is, (1) the deposition of the graphitic structure component, (2) the deposition of turbostratic structure component, and (3) the improvement of the crystallinity of residual broad component. Behavior of (3) was observed in all kinds of the carbons and was more remarkable in the graphitizable carbon. In addition, this behavior was enhanced with the increase of HT T. The behavior of (1) was also observed in all carbons, and the depositting amount of this component was increased with the deterioration of the graphitizability of carbon specimens and with the increase of HT T. The turbostratic structure component was depositted only in the non-graphitizable carbons at above 1400°C of HTT.