ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | NOVEMBER 2026 20 essentially closed cages of carbon atoms[9]. In 1991, Japanese physicist Sumio Iijima showed the world carbon nanotubes, rolled graphitic sheets of carbon with significant strength and conductivity[10]. In 2004, University of Manchester scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov unveiled graphene—graphite at its thinnest; one atom thick—yet its potential could not be larger[11]. Not far behind, the age of nanobiotechnology employed the unique properties of carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other carbon nanomaterials for targeted drug delivery, tissue engineering, sensors, and diagnostics[8]. THE INFORMATION/DIGITAL AGE: CARBON Modern digital technology required materials for energy storage and thermal management well beyond the technology of the Columbia zinc- carbon battery. In 1991, Sony commercialized the lithium-ion battery, a development that took decades of electrochemical advances to achieve. Part of the solution was a carbon anode material, later to be standardized as a graphite material, in order to achieve stable and safe lithium-ion battery performance. Graphite functions as an intercalation anode material, forming LiC6 when fully lithiated (charged) and converting back to C when discharged[12]. The growth of lithium-ion batteries over the decades has rapidly increased the demand for engineered graphite anode materials, which are specially processed and heat treated graphitic powders. Squeezing more electronic power and functionality into smaller components means that energy density is not the only challenge—thermal management is critical, too. Graphite foils and films, which are light and have high thermal conductivity along the sheet, are key materials for controlling temperature and temperature gradients in electronics[8]. THE FUTURE While every application of graphite materials and their interesting details could not be covered here, the depth and breadth are clear. Graphite supply chains link into almost everything. Graphite has evolved into a critical material in society. But it is critical in not only importance but vulnerability. Today especially, energy security and materials supply chain certainty are key concerns. Graphite is universally recognized as a critical mineral and/ or critical material[13]. Natural graphite has important uses but cannot meet the requirements for many applications where synthetic graphite materials are used. Synthetic graphite materials require a precise and industrial supply chain of feedstock, including petroleum and coal sources, forming methods, and carbonization-graphitization furnace technologies. While there are many sources of elemental carbon, there are limited sources of aromatic hydro- carbons that can be converted into a graphitic structure. Each synthetic graphite material is specially engineered, and its properties and performance irreversibly depend on each step of processing, beginning with the raw materials chemistry. There is little interchangeability among graphite materials, not only in form but function. There is now a significant amount of attention on graphite materials, and companies with strong graphite competency are working hard to ensure supply continuity and sustainable growth. Graphite in its first 130 years as an engineered material transformed the world. Its next 130 may prove even more consequential. ~AM&P For more information: Ryan Paul, associate director, R&D, GraphTech International, 800 Resource Dr., Brooklyn Heights, OH 44131, 216.676.2000, ryan.paul@graftech.com, graftech.com. References 1. GrafTech 125 Years, GrafTech International Ltd., 2011. 2. The Columbia Dry Cell Battery, American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks, 2005, acs.org/education/whatischemistry/ landmarks/drycellbattery.html, (accessed September 15, 2026). 3. R. Szymanowitz, Edward Goodrich Acheson: Inventor, Scientist, Industrialist: A Biography, New York, Vantage Press, 1971. 4. R.E. Nightingale, (Ed.), Nuclear Graphite, Academic Press, 1962. 5. High Performance Carbon Fibers, American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks, acs.org/ content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carbonfibers.html, (accessed September 15, 2026). 6. Orbiter Thermal Protection System, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/ pdf/167473main_TPS-08.pdf, (accessed September 15, 2026). 7. P. Meggitt, How Do You Make Carbon Brakes? meggitt.com/insights/ how-do-you-make-carbon-brakes, (accessed September 15, 2026). 8. M. Inagaki and F. Kang, Materials Science and Engineering of Carbon: Fundamentals, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2014. 9. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1996, NobelPrize.org, Nobel Prize Outreach 2026, Mon. 14 September 2026, nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1996/summary, (accessed September 15, 2026). 10. S. Iijima, Helical Microtubules of Graphitic Carbon, Nature, 354(6348), p 56-58, 7 November 1991, doi.org/ 10.1038/354056a0. 11. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010, NobelPrize.org, Nobel Prize Outreach 2026, Mon. 14 September 2026, nobel- prize.org/prizes/physics/2010/summary, (accessed September 15, 2026). 12. 125 Years of Synthetic Graphite in Batteries, Innovation News Network, innovationnewsnetwork.com/125-years- synthetic-graphite-batteries/16303, (accessed September 15, 2026). 13. What Are Critical Minerals and Materials?, energy.gov/cmm/what-are- critical-minerals-and-materials, (accessed September 15, 2026).
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