Graphite, acid-treated

Hydrolysis

Description of key information

According to the Guidance on information requirements and chemical safety assessment - Chapter R.7b: Endpoint specific guidance, hydrolysis is defined as a decomposition or degradation of a chemical by reaction with water and is designed to provide information on abiotic degradation that can help in classification, persistence testing and in determining the fate of a substance in environmental surface waters. Hydrolysis is a common degradation route in the environment, where reaction of a substance with water with a net exchange of the X group with an OH at the reaction centre such that RX + H2O → ROH + HX. 
Graphite, acid-treated is an inorganic solid, consisting of natural graphite and variable amounts of either intercalated nitric acid or acetic acid.
Graphite, acid-treated does not contain water sensitive chemical bonds or groups that would induce the physico-chemical degradation via hydrolysis. The main component – graphite - does not undergo hydrolysis due to a lack of the aforementioned properties. The intercalated nitric acid or acetic acid are partially leached out by water and dissociate into the environmentally ubiquitous nitrate (NO3-) or acetate (CH3COO-) and hydronium (H3O+) ions. The intercalated nitrite/nitrate or acetate ions are also subject to a partially leaching-out process. All ions cannot hydrolyse anymore.  
Based on the chemical properties of graphite, acid-treated, degradation via hydrolysis is unlikely to occur and performance of a study to determine hydrolysis is considered to be scientifically not justified.