There are two important features in the structure and electronic properties of graphite: a two-dimensional (2D) layered structure and an amphoteric feature (Kelly, 1981). The basic unit of graphite, called graphene is an extreme state of condensed aromatic hydrocarbons with an infinite in-plane dimension, in which an infinite number of benzene hexagon rings are condensed to form a rigid planar sheet, as shown in Figure 1.1. In a graphene sheet, π-electrons form a 2D extended electronic structure. The top of the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) level featured by the bonding π-band touches the bottom of the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) level featured by the π*-antibonding band at the Fermi energy EF, the zero-gap semiconductor state being stabilized as shown in Figure 1.2a. The AB stacking of graphene sheets gives graphite, as shown in Figure 1.3, in which the weak inter-sheet interaction modifies the electronic structure into a semimetallic one having a quasi-2D nature, as shown in Figure 1.2b. Graphite thus features a 2D system from both structural and electronic aspects. The amphoteric feature is characterized by the fact that graphite works not only as an oxidizer but also as a reducer in chemical reactions. This characteristic stems from the zero-gap-semiconductor-type or semimetallic electronic structure, in which the ionization potential and the electron affinity have the same value of 4.6 eV (Kelly, 1981). Here, the ionization potential is defined as the energy required when we take one electron from the top of the bonding π-band to the vacuum level, while the electron affinity is defined as the energy produced by taking an electron from the vacuum level to the bottom of the anti-bonding π*-band. The amphoteric character gives graphite (or graphene) a unique property in the charge transfer reaction with a variety of materials: namely, not only an electron donor but also an electron acceptor gives charge transfer complexes with graphite, as shown in the following reactions: . . .xC + D → D+ C+x. . . . . .(1.1). . . . . .xC + A → C+x A−. . . . . .(1.2). . . where C, D, and A are graphite, donor, and acceptor, respectively.
