Carbon alkali metal intercalates

Many samples are unstable in air. Examples of air-sensitive compounds are alkali metal intercalated C60, carbon nanotubes, and graphite, which are... 

Several carbon-containing superconductors are listed in Table 4.2-29. Superconductivity in the fullerenes can be achieved by alkali metal intercalation, resulting in... 

Graphite reacts with alkali metals, for example potassium, to form compounds which are non-stoichiometric but which all have limiting compositions (for example K C) in these, the alkaU metal atoms are intercalated between the layers of carbon atoms. In the preparation of fluorine by electrolysis of a molten fluoride with graphite electrodes the solid compound (CF) polycarbon fluoride is formed, with fluorine on each carbon atom, causing puckering of the rings. 

Tanuma, S., Synthesis and structure of quasi-one-dimensional carbon crystal carbolite and intercalation with alkali metals and halogens. In Supercarbon, Synthesis, Properties and Applications, ed. S. Yoshimura and R. P. H. Chang, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 1998, pp. 120 127. 

Whereas the electrochemical decomposition of propylene carbonate (PC) on graphite electrodes at potentials between 1 and 0.8 V vs. Li/Li was already reported in 1970 [140], it took about four years to find out that this reaction is accompanied by a partially reversible electrochemical intercalation of solvated lithium ions, Li (solv)y, into the graphite host [64], In general, the intercalation of Li (and other alkali-metal) ions from electrolytes with organic donor solvents into fairly crystalline graphitic carbons quite often yields solvated (ternary) lithiated graphites, Li r(solv)yC 1 (Fig. 8) [7,24,26,65,66,141-146],... 

The reaction of various carbonaceous materials with steam to yield CO, CO2, and H2 has been intensively studied. Of special interest has been the catalysis of this reaction by various alkali metal containing compounds, most notably potassium carbonate (32-37). Various mechanisms have been proposed, some including alkali metal atoms (37) or even graphite intercalation compounds (38) as intermediates. 

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