Surfactant-free single-layer graphene in water.
Dispersing graphite in water to obtain true (single-layer) graphene in bulk quantity in a liquid has been an unreachable goal for materials scientists in the past decade. Similarly, a diagnostic tool to identify solubilized graphene in situ has been long awaited. Here we show that homogeneous stable dispersions of single-layer graphene (SLG) in water can be obtained by mixing graphenide (negatively charged graphene) solutions in tetrahydrofuran with degassed water and evaporating the organic solvent. In situ Raman spectroscopy of these aqueous dispersions shows all the expected characteristics of SLG. Transmission electron and atomic force microscopies on deposits confirm the single-layer character. The resulting additive-free stable water dispersions contain 400 m2l-1of developed graphene surface. Films prepared from these dispersions exhibit a conductivity of up to 32 kS m-1.
CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP), UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.|Université Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.
George
G
Bepete
Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR CNRS 5521, F-34095 Montpellier, France.
Eric
E
Anglaret
CNR IMM-Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
Luca
L
Ortolani
CNR IMM-Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
Vittorio
0000-0002-8533-1540
V
Morandi
CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP), UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.|Université Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.
Kai
K
Huang
CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP), UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.|Université Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.
Alain
0000-0001-8614-2867
A
Pénicaud
CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP), UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.|Université Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, F-33600 Pessac, France.
Carlos
C
Drummond