Femtosecond carrier dynamics in bulk graphite and graphene paper

► Fs pump-probe transmission and reflectivity of graphite and graphene paper are reported. ► Two decays of the excitation are observed in both materials, one ultrafast, 200 fs, and a the other slower, 2 ps. ► The ultrafast decay is identical in both systems, the slow one is suppressed in grapheme paper. ► The ultrafast decay is due to electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering within the graphene sheets. ► The slow decay is due to interlayer electron-phonon scattering and anharmonic couplings.