A mixed-solvent strategy for facile and green preparation of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite

A versatile and scalable mixed-solvent strategy, by which two mediocre solvents could be combined into good solvents for exfoliating graphite, is demonstrated for facile and green preparation of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite. Mild sonication of crystal graphite powder in a mixture...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology 2012-08, Vol.14 (8), p.1-9, Article 1003
Main Authors: Yi, Min, Shen, Zhigang, Ma, Shulin, Zhang, Xiaojing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Exfoliation
Graphene
Graphite
Inorganic Chemistry
Lasers
Materials Science
Nanocomposites
Nanomaterials
Nanoparticles
Nanostructure
Nanotechnology
Optical Devices
Optics
Photonics
Physical Chemistry
Research Paper
Solvents
Strategy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A versatile and scalable mixed-solvent strategy, by which two mediocre solvents could be combined into good solvents for exfoliating graphite, is demonstrated for facile and green preparation of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite. Mild sonication of crystal graphite powder in a mixture of water and alcohol could yield graphene nanosheets, which formed a highly stable suspension in the mixed solvents. The graphene yield was estimated as ~10 wt%. The optimum mass fraction of ethanol in water–ethanol mixtures and isopropanol in water–isopropanol mixtures was experimentally determined as ~40 and ~55 % respectively, which could be roughly predicted by the theory of Hansen solubility parameters. Statistics based on atomic force microscopic analysis show that up to ~86 % of the prepared nanosheets were less than 10-layer thick with a monolayer fraction of ~8 %. High resolution transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectrum analysis of the vacuum-filtered films suggest the graphene sheets to be largely free of defects and oxides. The proposed mixed-solvent strategy here extends the scope for liquid-phase processing graphene and gives researchers great freedom in designing ideal solvent systems for specific applications.
ISSN:1388-0764
1572-896X
DOI:10.1007/s11051-012-1003-5