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Efficient production of few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation of graphite in an aqueous liquid
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  • Mingyun Guo,
  • Jian Cui,
  • Guangfa Zhang,
  • Shuai Zhao,
  • Ailin Gao,
  • Yehai Yan
Mingyun Guo
Qingdao University of Science and Technology

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Jian Cui
Qingdao University of Science and Technology
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Guangfa Zhang
Qingdao University of Science and Technology
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Shuai Zhao
Qingdao University of Science and Technology
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Ailin Gao
Qingdao University of Science and Technology
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Yehai Yan
Qingdao University of Science and Technology
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Abstract

A water-soluble polymer stabilizer (VIB-co-VI-co-Py, Figure 1) assisted liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE), implemented by high-shear mixing rather than currently more often used bath/probe sonication, was developed as a new method for efficient production of few-layer graphene (FLG) in aqueous liquid. With help of VIB-co-VI-co-Py, stable aqueous dispersion of FLG forms in-situ with 90% of dispersed flakes of fewer than five layers and production rate up to 0.86 g h-1 by 5.0 L of aqueous liquid, representing the highest production rate per volume (0.17 g L-1 h-1) reported hitherto for LPE with the liquid volume no less than 5.0 L. The scale-up shear-exfoliated FLG exhibits high quality and excellent redispersibility in water, thus paving the way for a wide range of applications. As typical application demonstrations, the FLG-based flexible conductive films and polymer composite hydrogels were prepared and evaluated. The results show that the VIB-co-VI-co-Py exfoliated FLG performs well therein.