Synthesis of graphite intercalation compounds with CrVI compounds using CrO3 and HCl at room temperature

A new and simple method was developed to synthesize graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) with CrVI compounds from natural graphite host with different sizes from 10 to 400 μm at room temperature under atmospheric conditions. The stage structure of the GICs was controlled by changing the reaction time and relative amounts of graphite, CrO3 and HCl; stage-2 GIC was produced after keeping graphite, CrO3 and 12 M HCl in a molar ratio of 1:2:1 for 15 days. The stage number increased with increase in the relative amount of HCl and no intercalation was observed using more than 5 mol. A lower concentration of HCl (3 M) also performed the intercalation. The presence of CrVI in GICs synthesized was proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.