Reaction of hydrogen with graphite


Reaction of hydrogen with graphite

Play all audios:


ABSTRACT IN a recent communication1 Gulbransen showed that reactions between graphite and hydrogen which are thermo-chemically unfavourable can proceed to a measurable extent under


conditions where the reaction products are rapidly removed or the system quenched. In view of this it is considered of interest to report certain observations made in these laboratories


during experiments in which graphite was mechanically ground in the presence of hydrogen, and also of nitrogen. It was found that both these gases are taken up by graphite if present in the


grinding chamber during the comminution process. The grinding was carried out using a vibratory ball mill fitted with gas-tight grinding chambers to which the gas was metered during grinding


to maintain the pressure constant at 1 atm. The graphite was synthetic and contained less than 0.02 per cent of ash by weight, while the gases were of commercial quality at 99.9 per cent


purity. The grinding medium was 0.25 in. steel balls. We concluded that the absorption of the gases must be due to some form of chemical reaction with the graphite for the following reasons.


First, direct adsorption of the gases by the fresh graphite surface produced cannot wholly account for the uptake, because the extent of uptake is greater than when the graphite is first


ground _in vacuo_ and then placed in contact with the gas, even though the amount of fresh surface produced is greater in the latter case. Second, it is reasoned that neither hydrogen nor


nitrogen reacts with the active (free radical) sites produced by fracture of the graphite planes, because we have shown that these are most readily neutralized by subsequent treatment with


oxygen and that the amount of oxygen absorbed depends only on the fresh surface produced, irrespective of whether the graphite is initially ground in hydrogen, nitrogen or _in vacuo_.


Finally, we have observed that graphite ground in the presence of nitrogen has a strong smell resembling that of hydrogen cyanide, whereas no such smell is detectable if the grinding is


carried out _in vacuo_. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution


Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on SpringerLink * Instant access to full


article PDF Buy now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs *


Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS CATALYSIS-FREE TRANSFORMATION OF NON-GRAPHITISING CARBONS INTO HIGHLY CRYSTALLINE GRAPHITE Article Open access 24 July 2020


DEVELOPMENT OF A CHEMICAL-FREE FLOATATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PURIFICATION OF VEIN GRAPHITE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PRODUCTS Article Open access 22 November 2021 SILICON CARBIDE FORMATION


FROM METHANE AND SILICON MONOXIDE Article Open access 11 December 2020 REFERENCES * Gulbransen, E. A., _Nature_, 212, 1420 (1966). Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar  * Bowden, F. P., and


Tabor, D., _The Friction and Lubrication of Solids_ (Oxford University Press, 1950). MATH  Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * British Petroleum


Company, Ltd., BP Research Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames D. J. PALMER Authors * D. J. PALMER View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND


PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE PALMER, D. Reaction of Hydrogen with Graphite. _Nature_ 215, 388–389 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/215388a0


Download citation * Received: 03 May 1967 * Revised: 16 June 1967 * Issue Date: 22 July 1967 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/215388a0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link


with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt


content-sharing initiative