Peptide-Driven Exfoliation and Dispersion Mechanisms of Graphene in Aqueous Media

Peptide helps keep graphene sheets apart

30 September 2022

Molecular simulations have revealed how a small protein helps to form dispersions of graphene sheets in water from a graphite stack.

Suspensions of single-atom-thick sheets of graphene in water are promising for many biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, drug delivery and biosensors.

A few peptides — short strings of amino acids — are known to help graphene sheets peel off from graphite in water, but just how they do this was unknown.

Now, by performing molecular simulations, three researchers from Deakin University in Australia have uncovered the mechanism for the first time.

The trio found that the peptide actually increases the vibrational energy needed to separate graphene sheets from the graphite stack. But it also makes it much less likely that the graphene sheets will reunite once the vibrational energy has been turned off.

Thus, overall, the peptide aids the formation of stable dispersions of graphene in water.

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References

1. The Journal Physical Chemistry Letters 12, 11945−11950 (2021). doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03558