Article abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 563 - 568 (2008)
Published online: 10 August 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.215
Subject Categories: Nanomaterials | Synthesis and processing
High-yield production of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite
Yenny Hernandez1,7, Valeria Nicolosi1,7, Mustafa Lotya1, Fiona M. Blighe1, Zhenyu Sun1,2, Sukanta De1,2, I. T. McGovern1, Brendan Holland1, Michele Byrne3, Yurii K. Gun'Ko2,3, John J. Boland2,3, Peter Niraj2,3, Georg Duesberg2,3, Satheesh Krishnamurthy2,3, Robbie Goodhue4, John Hutchison5, Vittorio Scardaci6, Andrea C. Ferrari6 & Jonathan N. Coleman1,2
Abstract
Fully exploiting the properties of graphene will require a method for the mass production of this remarkable material. Two main routes are possible: large-scale growth or large-scale exfoliation. Here, we demonstrate graphene dispersions with concentrations up to 
0.01 mg ml-1, produced by dispersion and exfoliation of graphite in organic solvents such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone. This is possible because the energy required to exfoliate graphene is balanced by the solvent–graphene interaction for solvents whose surface energies match that of graphene. We confirm the presence of individual graphene sheets by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Our method results in a monolayer yield of 1 wt%, which could potentially be improved to 7–12 wt% with further processing. The absence of defects or oxides is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron, infrared and Raman spectroscopies. We are able to produce semi-transparent conducting films and conducting composites. Solution processing of graphene opens up a range of potential large-area applications, from device and sensor fabrication to liquid-phase chemistry.
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Department of Geology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK
- Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, 9 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA, UK
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Jonathan N. Coleman1,2 e-mail: colemaj@tcd.ie
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