Abstract
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.
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This study was supported by the Special Funds for Co-construction Project of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, the “985” Project of Ministry of Education of China, and the fundamental research funds for the Central Universities.
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Yi, M., Shen, Z., Ma, S. et al. A mixed-solvent strategy for facile and green preparation of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite. J Nanopart Res 14, 1003 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1003-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1003-5