Graphite is a metamorphic mineral composed of pure carbon. Geologically, and based on how we find it in the crust, graphite is a super-high grade of carbon, likely from coal or organic-rich black shale.
Graphite powder, then, is a mineral based on the element carbon. In terms of crystallography, there are three common types. There’s diamond, in which the carbon atoms are bonded together in a tetrahedral lattice arrangement. This lattice arrangement is why diamond is very hard.
There are other forms of pure carbon called fullerenes, named after the late, great Buckminster Fuller. In fullerene structures, the carbon atoms are bonded together in spherical, tubular or ellipsoidal formations. It’s astonishing crystal science at work. Fullerenes are so new to our collective knowledge that people are just starting to figure out what to do with them. But it’s safe to say that the technology of fullerenes is very promising.
You get graphite sheet when the carbon atoms are bonded together in sheets of a hexagonal lattice. The sheet structure is what makes graphite slippery, and useful as a lubricant.
Graphite was chemically identified in 1789 by a German scientist named Abraham Werner. Werner named the substance after the Greek word, meaning to draw or write. Even back then, graphite was used in pencils. Unlike a diamond, graphite is a semimetal. Every carbon atom in graphite has what’s called a free valence electron. Hence, graphite is an electrical conductor. Graphite is very stable. It’s lightweight, chemically resistant, hard, and scratch-resistant and a great means of transferring heat energy.
Graphite burns at a very high temperature. Therefore, flake graphite is useful in numerous electrical and thermochemical applications, from arc lamp electrodes to thin-film heat sinks. Quite a bit of natural graphite is consumed in refractory processes, electric arc steel making, brake linings, foundry facings and lubricants. There’s also a substance called graphene, which occurs naturally in graphite. Graphene has unique physical properties. It may be one of the strongest substances ever identified.