EFFECT OF INTERCALATION OF ALKALI AND HALOGEN SPECIES INTO THE LOW-DENSITY CARBON CRYSTAL CARBOLITE

A new crystal phase of carbon, 'carbolite', was synthesized which cons ists of a parallel array of carbon chains. The array is made of a tria ngular lattice of which the inter-chain distance is 0.344 nm and the m ean inter-atomic distance is 0.133 nm. The inter-chain space yields in tercalations. Potassium, sodium and iodine are shown to intercalate ca rbolite; the electrical resistance of the material after the reaction is lowered by six orders of magnitude compared to that of initial stag e of the intercalated carbolite. Bromine and ICl do not intercalate; i nstead, they dissolve carbolite.