Title
Natural graphite cuboids
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-13-2019
Abstract
Graphite cuboids are abundant in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks and are generally interpreted as products of partial or complete graphitization of pre-existing diamonds. The understanding of the graphite cuboid structure and its formation mechanisms is still very limited compared to nanotubes, cones, and other carbon morphologies. This paper is devoted to the natural occurrences of graphite cuboids in several metamorphic and magmatic rocks, including diamondiferous metamorphic assemblages. The studied cuboids are polycrystalline aggregates composed either of numerous smaller graphite cuboids with smooth surfaces or graphite flakes radiating from a common center. Silicates, oxides, and sulphides are abundant in all the samples studied, testifying that the presence of oxygen, sulfur, or sulphides in natural systems does not prevent the spherulitic growth of graphite. The surface topography and internal morphology of graphite cuboids combined with petrological data suggest that graphite cuboids originated from a magmatic or metamorphic fluid/melt and do not represent products of diamond-graphite transformation processes, even in diamond-bearing rocks.
Publication Title
Minerals
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Korsakov, A.,
Rezvukhina, O. V.,
Jaszczak, J.,
Rezvukhin, D. I.,
&
Mikhailenko, D.
(2019).
Natural graphite cuboids.
Minerals,
9(2).
http://doi.org/10.3390/min9020110
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/physics-fp/157
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© 2019 by the authors. Article deposited here in compliance with publisher policy. Publisher's version of record: https://doi.org/10.3390/min9020110