Characterization of Naturally Occurring Crystalline and Amorphous Graphite for Bullet Resistant Glass Application

The characterization of naturally occurring crystalline and amorphous graphite for bullet resistant glass application were carried out. Natural occurring graphite was mined from a Sama - Borkono village in Warji Local Government Area in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Froth floatation was used to beneficiate the raw graphite according to standard with modifications based on the types (crystallite and amorphous). After floatation and drying, it was observed that for 4 runs and feed of 300g each, 39.4–45.1%, and 22.3–22.7% yield was recovered from crystallite and amorphous graphite respectively. This portrays a higher yield for the crystalline more than the amorphous graphite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed for the characterization of and amorphous graphite. The raw data obtained was used to regenerate their profiles with Expert HighScore and Origin software to display the ‘hkl’ values and functional groups respectively. Graphite crystals (68.9%) was more on the amorphous than the crystalline graphite phase (30.7%). The interlayer spacing was smaller for amorphous component showing better distinct peak at greater intensity with the “hkl” values on the combined or stack plots at 2θ = 26.5°. The impurities removed were characterized and found to have high percentage composition of carbon (66.2%) and oxygen (46.2%) which is useful in the production of house hold items like deodorant, hand lotion and detergent. Both the pure graphite (crystalline and amorphous) crystals and its byproducts are very useful and viable for bullet resistant glass application. Crystalline determination shows that both the crystalline and amorphous graphite has the potentials of being used for bullet resistant glass application. However, the highest number of crystalline size (4349.9A and 5346.9A) was found in amorphous graphite before and after beneficiation respectively. This implies that the material is inherently micro or fine-grained, rather than truly amorphous. The FT-IR analysis for the and amorphous graphite carried out to identify the functional groups before and after beneficiation indicate similarities in their functional groups comprising of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitro compounds with minor differences in terms of present of other compounds. Thus, the presence of a carboxylic acid functional group has significant implications for a molecule's physical and chemical properties, primarily due to its strong polarity and ability to form extensive hydrogen bonds indicating high correlation between mechanical and the structural properties of the graphite produced for possible future production and extraction of graphene.