  Graphite oxide is an amorphous insulator. Although several models have been
suggested, its structure remains controversial. To elucidate this issue, 5
samples were prepared by the Brodie process and the Staudenmaier process. The
electronic structure of graphite oxide was examined with x-ray absorption near
edge structure and the ratio of $sp^{2}$ to $sp^{3}$ bonded carbon atoms was
investigated with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy as a function of sample
preparation times. It was found that this ratio approaches 0.3 exponentially
with a characteristic time of 1.5 weeks. We believe this long characteristic
time is the reason the structure has remained unclear.
