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An eco-friendly solution for liquid phase exfoliation of graphite under optimised ultrasonication conditions

An eco-friendly solution for liquid phase exfoliation of graphite under optimised ultrasonication conditions

Morton, Justin A, Kaur, Amanpreet, Khavari, Mohammad, Tyurnina, Anastasia V, Priyadarshi, Abhinav, Eskin, Dmitry G, Mi, Jiawei, Porfyrakis, Kyriakos ORCID: 0000-0003-1364-0261, Prentice, Paul and Tzanakis, Iakovos (2022) An eco-friendly solution for liquid phase exfoliation of graphite under optimised ultrasonication conditions. Carbon, 204. pp. 434-446. ISSN 0008-6223 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2022.12.070)

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Abstract

Ultrasonic assisted liquid phase exfoliation (ULPE) is a promising method for the large scale production of 2D materials. Currently, toxic solvents such as N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) are commonly used for the production of graphene. In this paper four solvents; three green solvents (water, ethanol and water/ethanol) plus NMP for comparison, were sonicated and examined in terms of their bubble dynamics and acoustic emissions. Advanced fundamental analysis was conducted using high-speed imaging synchronised with acoustic pressure measurements complemented by shadowgraphic photography of the emitted shockwaves, in order to determine a suitable eco-friendly solvent medium from a cavitation bubbles dynamics perspective. Thereafter, ULPE of graphite in the optimum solvent took place for 2 h under controlled ultrasonication parameters. The produced graphene samples were characterised by employing a series of techniques consisting of Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and Raman spectroscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A mixture of deionised water and ethanol was shown to produce a yield twice that of pure water, comprising of high quality few layer graphene (3–5 Ls) with an average area of ∼1.15 (μm)2 and stability of ∼78% for the duration of six months. This combination is a promising eco-friendly substitute for future commercial manufacturing of graphene.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: ultrasonic exfoliation; graphite; graphene; liquid phase; eco-friendly
Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General)
Q Science > QD Chemistry
T Technology > TP Chemical technology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Engineering & Science > School of Engineering (ENG)
Last Modified: 09 Jan 2023 11:44
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/38400

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