Sealing material made of expanded graphite having opened thin-leaf surface structure

Abstract

An expanded graphite sealing material is provided in which the adaptability of the principal face of an expanded graphite base member is improved, the bonding strength to a coating layer and the like can be increased, and the sealing properties can be enhanced. A method of producing such a sealing material and a gasket sheet using the sealing material are also of concern. On at least a portion of a principal face of the expanded graphite base member in which expanded graphite particles are pressurized and integrated together, opened thin-leaf graphite portions are formed. The principal face of the expanded graphite base member having the thin-leaf graphite portions can be impregnated with a sealing member such as PTFE or covered with a coating layer. As the form of the sealing material, a sheet, a press-molded product, a fabric, a string, or a braided article can be adopted.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.