Are graphene layers in graphite bonded through Van Der Waals or weak 'metallic' bonds?
May 9, 2017 - Graphite is composed of stacked layers of graphene sheets, which are held together by the weak Van der Waals forces, including attraction. Van der Waals bonding is common in gases and organic liquids and solids, but it is rare in minerals. Its presence in a mineral defines a weak area with good cleavage and low hardness. In graphite, carbon atoms lie in covalently bonded sheets with van der Waals forces acting between the layers. Hydrogen bonds.
I was always taught, and numerous sources stipulate, that the graphene layers are held together in graphite through long range Van Der Waals attraction force between the graphene layers. However, I just read on a paper that this view is erroneous due to the fact that graphite exhibits interlayer current; indeed, this would cause graphite to have a more 'metallic' bond that allows electron flow throughout the entire molecular structure. The paper was dated 2007; is this the current view of the bonding in graphite?
Link to the paper: http://przyrbwn.icm.edu.pl/APP/PDF/112/a112z308.pdf