---
title: "Does graphite conduct electricity?"
description: "graphite: conducts electricity, at 0.1% of copper. What that means in practice, and how it compares with every other common material."
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/graphite/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does graphite conduct electricity?

**Does graphite conduct electricity?: Conducts electricity**

0.1% IACS — copper is 100

The exception among non-metals: graphite conducts because each carbon atom has a spare electron delocalised across the sheet. Diamond, the same element bonded differently, is an insulator.

## Against copper

- **Conductivity:** 0.1% IACS
- **What that means:** A conductor of the same size carries about 0.1% of the current copper would for the same voltage drop, so replacing copper with it means increasing the cross-section by roughly 1000.0×.

IACS is the International Annealed Copper Standard, and the reason the industry quotes percentages rather than absolute figures is that the comparison is what matters. Aluminium at 61 % needs a conductor about 1.6 times the cross-section of copper — and is still lighter, which is why every overhead transmission line is aluminium and no house is wired in it.

## How it compares

*Percentage of the International Annealed Copper Standard. Silver is the only element above 100.*

| Material | Conducts? | % of copper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| silver | Conducts electricity | 105% |
| copper | Conducts electricity | 100% |
| gold | Conducts electricity | 70% |
| aluminum | Conducts electricity | 61% |
| aluminum 6061 | Conducts electricity | 43% |
| magnesium | Conducts electricity | 39% |
| aluminum 7075 | Conducts electricity | 33% |
| tungsten | Conducts electricity | 31% |
| brass | Conducts electricity | 28% |
| zinc | Conducts electricity | 27% |
| nickel | Conducts electricity | 24% |
| iron | Conducts electricity | 17% |
| platinum | Conducts electricity | 16% |
| tin | Conducts electricity | 15% |
| bronze | Conducts electricity | 15% |
| chromium | Conducts electricity | 13% |
| wrought iron | Conducts electricity | 12% |
| tin-lead solder (60/40) | Conducts electricity | 12% |
| lead-free solder (SAC305) | Conducts electricity | 11% |
| mild steel | Conducts electricity | 10% |
| pewter | Conducts electricity | 10% |
| high-carbon steel | Conducts electricity | 9% |
| lead | Conducts electricity | 8% |
| tool steel | Conducts electricity | 7% |
| tungsten carbide | Conducts electricity | 5% |
| gray cast iron | Conducts electricity | 4% |
| ductile iron | Conducts electricity | 4% |
| Monel 400 | Conducts electricity | 3.5% |
| titanium | Conducts electricity | 3% |
| stainless steel 304 | Conducts electricity | 2.5% |
| stainless steel 316 | Conducts electricity | 2.3% |
| mercury | Conducts electricity | 2% |
| Inconel 718 | Conducts electricity | 1.4% |
| Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy | Conducts electricity | 1% |
| unidirectional carbon fibre composite | Conducts electricity | 1% |
| graphite | Conducts electricity | 0.1% |

## The ones that surprise people

- Diamond is an electrical insulator and simultaneously the best thermal conductor known — about five times better than copper at moving heat. Structure decides both, not composition.
- Graphite is the same element as diamond and conducts electricity well, because its layered structure leaves one electron per atom free to move.
- Carbon fibre conducts. People treat composites as plastic, and lightning strike protection on composite aircraft is a serious design problem because of it.
- Pure water is an insulator. Tap water conducts because of dissolved ions — the hazard is what is in the water, not the water.
- Air is an excellent insulator until roughly 3 kV per millimetre, at which point it ionises and conducts. That is what a spark is.

## Common questions

### Does graphite conduct electricity?

Conducts electricity. The exception among non-metals: graphite conducts because each carbon atom has a spare electron delocalised across the sheet. Diamond, the same element bonded differently, is an insulator.

### How does that compare with copper?

0.1% of copper on the IACS scale, so a conductor of the same size carries about 0.1% of the current for the same voltage drop.

## Related pages

- [graphite](https://atoneplace.net/material/graphite/)
- [Is graphite magnetic?](https://atoneplace.net/is-it-magnetic/graphite/)
- [Does graphite rust?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-rust/graphite/)
- [Does mild steel conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/mild-steel/)
- [Does aluminum conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/aluminum/)
- [Does copper conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/copper/)
- [Does gold conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/gold/)
- [Does titanium conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/titanium/)
- [Does stainless steel 304 conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/stainless-304/)
- [Does iron conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/iron/)
- [Does lead conduct?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-conduct/lead/)

## Sources

- Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SP 811) — NIST (https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811) [Public domain (US Government)]