Mechanical activation of graphite in air: A way to advanced carbon nanomaterials

Due to attrition of steel milling bodies caused by mechanical activation, iron is accumulated in the samples and its content exceeds 5%. Iron is distributed uniformly in the graphite as the 30-100 and 3-5 nm particles of hematite and iron carbide. The IR spectroscopy study revealed the formation of 0.8 mEq/g of the hydroxyl, phenolic, lactone and carbonyl groups on the graphite surface in the course of mechanical activation.