TY - JOUR
T1 - Efficient solvent systems for improving production of few-layer graphene in liquid phase exfoliation
AU - Arao, Yoshihiko
AU - Mori, Fumiya
AU - Kubouchi, Masatoshi
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15H05504. We acknowledge the Center for Advanced Materials Analysis in Tokyo Institute of Technology for FE-TEM and Raman analysis.
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite is a promising method to produce few-layer graphene (FLG) in large quantities. Selection of the solvent or surfactant is the most important factor in determining the productivity of LPE and the stability of the liquid FLG dispersion. To find efficient solvent systems for improving the production of FLG, various approaches based on previous research, including addition of a surfactant and use of binary solvents, are investigated using a pressure homogenizer. Over the range of solvents and surfactants used in our study, we find that the greatest improvement in the production of FLG results from the addition of an alkaline aqueous solution (pH 11) into organic solvents. Moreover, we find that this approach works for the probe-sonication method of FLG production as well as for various types of natural graphite. Solvent molecular size and electrostatic repulsion of graphene in liquid play important roles in improving the production of FLG because they mitigate the restacking of FLG during exfoliation.
AB - Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite is a promising method to produce few-layer graphene (FLG) in large quantities. Selection of the solvent or surfactant is the most important factor in determining the productivity of LPE and the stability of the liquid FLG dispersion. To find efficient solvent systems for improving the production of FLG, various approaches based on previous research, including addition of a surfactant and use of binary solvents, are investigated using a pressure homogenizer. Over the range of solvents and surfactants used in our study, we find that the greatest improvement in the production of FLG results from the addition of an alkaline aqueous solution (pH 11) into organic solvents. Moreover, we find that this approach works for the probe-sonication method of FLG production as well as for various types of natural graphite. Solvent molecular size and electrostatic repulsion of graphene in liquid play important roles in improving the production of FLG because they mitigate the restacking of FLG during exfoliation.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.03.002
DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.03.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85015395174
VL - 118
SP - 18
EP - 24
JO - Carbon
JF - Carbon
SN - 0008-6223
ER -