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Natural graphite cuboids
Minerals
  • Andrey Korsakov, Russian Academy of Sciences
  • Olga V. Rezvukhina, Russian Academy of Sciences
  • John Jaszczak, Michigan Technological University
  • Dmitriy I. Rezvukhin, Russian Academy of Sciences
  • Denis Mikhailenko, Russian Academy of Sciences
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-13-2019
Disciplines
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.

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
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
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Publisher's PDF
Citation Information
Andrey Korsakov, Olga V. Rezvukhina, John Jaszczak, Dmitriy I. Rezvukhin, et al.. "Natural graphite cuboids" Minerals Vol. 9 Iss. 2 (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john-jaszczak/71/