| Chemical Properties | soft dark grey solid |
| Chemical Properties | Graphite is crystallized carbon and usually
appears as soft, black scales. There are two types of graph ite, natural and artificial (activated). Natural and synthetic
graphite may be mixed with each other or contain other
additives. |
| Uses | For "lead" pencils, refractory crucibles, stove polish; as pigment, lubricant, graphite cement; for matches and explosives, commutator brushes, anodes, arc-lamp carbons, electroplating; polishing Compounds, rust and needle-paper; coating for cathode ray tubes; moderator in nuclear piles. |
| Uses | Graphite has been used alone to make refractory products for the lower blast furnace linings, and electrodes for steel and aluminum production. They are also commonly used in conjunction with other refractory raw materials. These materials are highly refractory nonwettable materials and are useful refractories in nonoxidizing environments. Carbon blacks are co |
| Uses | Similar to those of natural graphite in
refractories and electrical products |
| Definition | An allotrope of CARBON.
Graphite is a good conductor of heat and
electricity. The atoms are arranged in layers
which cleave easily and graphite is used
as a solid lubricant. |
| General Description | A mineral form of the element carbon. Hexagonal crystals or thin leaf-like layers. Steel-gray to black with a metallic luster and a greasy feel. An electrical conductor. Used for high-temperature crucibles, as a lubricant and in "lead" pencils. |
| Reactivity Profile | GRAPHITE is non-flammable in bulk form, but combustible. A reducing agent. Mixtures of graphite dust and air are explosive when ignited.Reacts violently with very strong oxidizing agents such as fluorine, chlorine dioxide, and potassium peroxide. Almost inert chemically when in bulk form. Keep away from ignition sources and oxidizing agents. |
| Health Hazard | Pure synthetic graphite acts as
an inert or nuisance dust. |
| Flammability and Explosibility | Nonflammable |
| Industrial uses | Graphite is a form of carbon. It was formerlyknown as black lead, and when first used forpencils was called Flanders’ stone. It is a naturalvariety of elemental carbon with a grayishblackcolor and a metallic tinge.
Carbon and graphite have been used inindustry for many years, primarily as electrodes,arc carbons, brush carbons, and bearings.In the last decade or so, development ofnew types and emergence of graphite fibers asa promising reinforcement for high-performancecomposites have significantly increasedthe versatility of this family of materials. |
| Potential Exposure | Natural graphite is used in foundry
facings, steel making lubricants, refractories, crucibles,
pencil “lead,” paints, pigments, and stove polish. Artificial
graphite may be substituted for these uses with the excep tion of clay crucibles; other types of crucibles may be pro duced from artificial graphite. Additionally, it may be used
as a high temperature lubricant or for electrodes. It is uti lized in the electrical industry in electrodes, brushes, con tacts, and electronic tube rectifier elements; as a constituent
in lubricating oils and greases; to treat friction elements,
such as brake linings; to prevent molds from sticking
together; and in moderators in nuclear reactors. In addition,
concerns have been expressed about synthetic graphite in
fibrous form. Those exposed are involved in production of
graphite fibers from pitch or acrylonitrile fibers and the
manufacture and use of composites of plastics, metals, or
ceramics reinforced with graphite fibers. |
| Shipping | UN1362 Carbon, activated, Hazard Class: 4.2;
Labels: 4.2-Spontaneously combustible material, International. |
| Purification Methods | Treat graphite with hot 1:1 HCl. Then filter, wash and the dried powdered is heated in an evacuated quartz tube at 1000o until a high vacuum is obtained. Cool this and store it in an atmosphere of helium [Craig et al. J Phys Chem 60 1225 1956]. |
| Incompatibilities | Graphite is a strong reducing agent and
reacts violently with oxidizers, such as fluorine, chlorine
trifluoride, and potassium peroxide. Forms an explosive
mixture with air. May be spontaneously combustible in air. |
| Waste Disposal | Do not incinerate. Carbon
(graphite) fibers are difficult to dispose of by incineration.
Waste fibers should be packaged and disposed of in a land fill authorized for the disposal of special wastes of this
nature, or as otherwise may be required by law. |
