Donor-type graphite intercalation compounds containing alkali metal cations with amines and polyamines

A rich chemistry of ternary graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) containing alkali metal cations and amines or polyamines has been developed recently in our labs. Monolayer and bilayer structures for a range of amines and polyamines, including hexylamine, 1,2-diaminopropane, and diethylenetriamine, have been prepared chemically as stage 1 or 2 GICs. While these and related intercalates have been studied in detail with other layered host structures, there have been few reported analogs in graphite chemistry. However, our recent results indicate that under appropriate synthetic conditions the intercalation of amines into graphite may be comparable to that of other layered hosts, and may lead to an alternate chemical route to graphenes. The synthetic strategies employed and the structural and compositional details of the graphite intercalation compounds recently obtained (from XRD, NMR and thermal analysis) will be described.