CONDITIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF A NEW TYPE OF GRAPHITE-INTERCALATION COMPOUNDS WITH FECL3 IN CHLOROFORM

A new type of structure of ferric chloride-graphite intercalation compounds (FeCl3-GICs) was formed in the chloroform solutions of FeCl3 with Cl2 gas. The spacing between adjacent carbon layers containing the intercalate layer, (d1-value) in the new type compounds was 1.18 nm, which is larger than the value of 0.94 nm typical for the compounds synthesized by other methods. In the beginning of the reaction, the structure of GICs formed was the same as that obtained by vapor method, but after several days of reaction the new type GICs (called type II here) appeared. This structural change was found to correspond to the change of the equilibrium state of a iron-chlorine complex in the chloroform solution by irradiation of light, which was detected by the UV-Vis absorption spectrum of the reaction solution.