The interactions of two chemical species in the interlayer spacing of graphite

Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) are of interest to chemists and physicists because of their unusual properties. Much attention has been focused on the preparation and the properties of GICs themselves and on their utilization. In recent years, there have been attempts to intercalate several guest species together into graphite. As the guest species are arranged in the two-dimensional gallery of the graphite interlayer, where a strong influence is expected by the graphene layers, the interactions between the guest species are considered to be different from those in the usual surroundings. The present paper attempts to review recent experimental results relating to the interaction of two chemical species in the interlayer spacing of graphite. When two chemical species do not react in the interlayer, graphite bi-intercalation compounds (GBCs) are often obtained. In GBCs, two different guests occupy separate, successive interspaces of the host graphite. For an example of inorganic reactions in the graphite interlayer, metal chlorides are reduced to obtain fine metallic particles. The present paper also reports on the successful anionic polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons within the graphite interlayer.