Structural characterization of kerogens to granulite-facies graphite: Applicability of Raman microprobe spectroscopy

Abstract

The usefulness of the laser Raman microprobe (LRM) in characterizing the state of structural order of geologically relevant carbonaceous materials ranging from kerogen to granulite-facies graphite (in our samples, 4A < L a < ∞) is demostrated. The first part of this paper is an overview of the process of graphitization, two techniques used to characterize CM structurally (HRTEM and XRD analysis), and the theory of Raman spectroscopic analysis of CM