28-Jul-2020 - Curtin University

Serendipity broadens the scope for making graphite



Described in a research paper published in Nature's Communications Materials, the new technique does not require the typical metal catalysts or special raw materials to turn carbon into crystalline graphite. Interestingly it was instead discovered by a research student in a lab, using an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) - a piece of equipment, invented in Australia in the 1950s and developed to analyse the composition of liquids.

The Master-level student behind the discovery, Mr Jason Fogg, said that while the exact science behind why this new technique works is still to be confirmed, he believes it relates to the specific way the AAS heats the samples through short fast pulses.


"To put the temperature into perspective, 3000 degrees Celsius is equal to about half the surface temperature of the Sun."



The most astonishing result involved the polymer polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), which Dr Suarez-Martinez described as a 'textbook example' of a very stubborn material.





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