REDUCTION OF THE 2ND STAGE FECL4- AND FECL3 GRAPHITE-INTERCALATION COMPOUNDS

FeCl4- graphite intercalation compounds (GIC) were obtained by anodic oxidation of graphite in an aqueous solution and were subsequently submitted to galvanostatic reduction in a: Li / LiCO4 1M in propylene carbonate / GIC cell. The intensiostatic and structural data were compared to those obtained on partly reduced 2nd stage FeCl3 GIC. Whereas a ''one step reduction'' is observed with the FeCl3 GIC, the reduction of the 2nd stage FeCl4 GIC takes place with at least four well defined plateaus. The beginning of the last step corresponds to a stable 6 th stage structure. Increasing the charge passed through the samples leads to the exfoliation of the graphitic lattice and to the formation of metallic iron, exhibited by important ferromagnetic susceptibility.