Fabrication and physical properties of stable room temperature bulk ferromagnetic graphite

Abstract

The search for macroscopic magnetic ordering phenomena in organic materials, in particular in pure graphite, has been one of the more exciting scientific activities working in the frontiers of physics, chemistry, and materials science. In this Letter we report on a novel chemical route leading to undoubtedly obtain macroscopic quantities of magnetic graphite. This material has a stable and strong ferromagnetic response even at room temperature where it can be attracted by a commercial magnet. We have obtained this magnetic graphite by a vapor reaction consisting of a controlled etching on the graphite structure. This behavior has been previously predicted and postulated to be associated to micro-structural characteristics breaking the continuity of the delocalized p-electron clouds of the graphitic material, thus allowing the existence of magnetic centers related to the topology.