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This article focuses on EPR relaxation measurements in various carbon samples, e.g., natural carbons—anthracite, coal, higher anthraxolites, graphite; synthetically obtained carbons—glassy carbons, fullerenes, graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphite monocrystals, HOPG, nanoribbons, diamonds. The short introduction presents the basics of resonant electron spin relaxation techniques, briefly describing the obtained parameters. This review presents gathered results showing the processes leading to electron spin relaxation and typical ranges of electron spin relaxation rates for many different carbon types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of conduction electrons, i.e. Conduction Electron Spin Resonance (CESR), is a powerful tool for studies of carbon samples. Conductive samples cause additional effects in CESR spectra that influence the shape and intensity of the signals. In cases where conduction electrons play a dominant role, whilst the influence of localized paramagnetic centres is small or negligible, the effects because of the spins on conduction electrons will dominate the spectra. It has been shown that for some ratios of the bulk sample sizes ( d) to the skin depth ( δ), which depend on the electrical conductivity, additional size effects become visible in the line asymmetry parameter A/| B|, which is the ratio of the maximum to the absolute, minimum value of the resonance signal. To study these effects the electrical direct current-conductivity and CESR measurements are carried out for two amorphous bulk coal samples of anthracite and a higher anthraxolite. The observed effects are described and discussed in terms of the Dyson theory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific distortions of the EPR signal of bulk anthracite are observed at low temperatures. They are accompanied by variations in the microwave oscillator frequency and are explained by the manifestation of the Rabi splitting due to the strong coupling between electron spins and the cavity, combined with the use of an automatic frequency-control (AFC) system. EPR signals are recorded at negligible saturation in the temperature range of 4–300 K with use of the AFC system to keep the oscillator frequency locked to the resonant frequency of the TM110 cylinder cavity loaded with the sample. For the sample with a mass of 3.6 mg the line distortions are observed below 50 K and increase with temperature lowering. The oscillator frequency variations are used to estimate the coupling strength as well as the number of spins in the sample. It is shown that the spin-cavity coupling strength is inversely proportional to temperature and can be used for the absolute determination of the number of spins in a sample. Our results indicate that at low temperatures even 10 16 spins of the anthracite sample, with a mass of about 0.5 mg, can distort the EPR line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]