Accelerated Lanthanide Intercalation into Graphite Catalyzed by Na

Akira Iyo; Hiroshi Fujihisa; Yoshito Gotoh; Shigeyuki Ishida; Hiroshi Eisaki; Hiraku Ogino; Kenji Kawashima

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02682

paper

Accelerated Lanthanide Intercalation into Graphite Catalyzed by Na

arXiv:2409.01624 · doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02682

Abstract

Lanthanides ( $L n$ ) are notoriously difficult to intercalate into graphite. We investigated the possibility of using Na to catalyze the formation of $L n$ -intercalated graphite and successfully synthesized $L n$ C $_{6}$ ( $L n$ = Sm, Eu, and Yb) significantly rapidly in high yields. The synthesis process involves the formation of the reaction intermediate NaC $_{x}$ , through the mixing of Na and C, which subsequently reacts with $L n$ upon heating to form $L n$ C $_{6}$ . Well-sintered $L n$ C $_{6}$ pellets with low residual Na concentrations ( $L n$ :Na = 98:2) were fabricated by the two-step method. The pellets enabled the evaluation of $L n$ C $_{6}$ by powder X-ray diffraction and electrical resistivity measurements. This study highlights the versatility of the Na-catalyzed method and lays the foundation for the rapid mass production of $L n$ C $_{6}$ , with potential applications in superconducting and rechargeable battery materials.

16 pages, 7 figures