FORMATION OF GRAPHITE THIN-FILM FROM POLYFURFURYL ALCOHOL AND POLYVINYL ACETATE CARBONS PREPARED BETWEEN THE LAMELLAE OF MONTMORILLONITE

Polyfurfuryl alcohol and polyvinyl acetate carbons prepared between the lamellae of montmorillonite were easily graphitized by further heat treatment; the resultant products are two-dimensionlike graphite, consisting of highly oriented layer planes which are stacked thin and wide. Since similar results have also been obtained for polyacrylonitrile in the previous work, we can conclude that this unique carbonization method enables the conversion of any type of polymers to such a graphite thin film. In other words, if the carbonization process is appropriately controlled at a molecular level, the graphitizability of a carbon becomes independent of the type of starting material. © 1990.