Structural transformations of graphite during dispersion

The change in the fine structure of graphite dispersed in a planetary mill for up to 2700 minutes has been studied by the method of X-ray structural analysis. The profiles of the asymmetric X-ray diffraction 002 peak of graphite samples were investigated using a program that allows one to isolate overlapping peaks with different gravity centers, intensities, and widths. The separation was carried out into the minimum number of components that adequately describe the experimentally observed asymmetric peak. It is shown that asymmetric peak consist of a superposition of symmetric peaks of increasing width and corresponding to the values of interlayer distances d$_{002}$ in the range from $\sim$3.37 to $\sim$3.55/3.68 Å. The observed dependence of the component composition on the duration of dispersion suggests that the process of the transition of graphite into a disordered carbon material, apparently, develops through a number of metastable states.