Augmentation of graphite purity from mineral resources and enhancing % graphitization using microwave irradiation: XRD and Raman studies

Processing of graphite from its ore has been studied for more than a decade due to the elevated demand for graphite which has a wide range of applications but restricted to the short availability of resources. In the present study, microwave irradiation was used for the graphitization of carbon using different metal (Ni, Co, Fe, Cr) salts as catalysts. Microwave irradiation excels from the classical thermal treatment since in the former case the reaction time and the temperature used is low. The graphitization using nickel sulfate as a catalyst was most effective when compared to the other catalysts and the % degree of graphitization was about 98% for 5 min of reaction time. The mechanism underlying the formation of graphite by microwave irradiation is also discussed in brief. Hence this study provides a new approach for processing graphite by a simple, fast and effective microwave technique. In addition, the preparation of graphene oxide (GO) from the graphitized carbon was also attempted and compared with GO prepared from commercial graphite.