Scalable Production of Graphene Using Acetone-Water Dispersion through Shear-Exfoliation Method
Keywords:
Shear-Exfoliation Method, Acetone-Water Dispersion, graphemeAbstract
INTRODUCTION
To facilitate the development of graphene technology from laboratory to commercial uses, the researchers developed a scalable method to produce high quality and defect-free graphene as simple as possible. The researcher aimed to increase the scalability of the production to industrial scale with less complexity using readily available equipment.
METHODS
The production of graphene in this study was done using simple chemicals and equipment. The researchers used the most basic form of a shear mixer, i.e., a kitchen blender -Philips hr2056/01. To investigate the nature of the black liquid produced in the shear exfoliation, the mixtures were placed in a 250-mL beaker and was cooled for 30 minutes. Separation of the graphene and graphite was observed as the graphene floated while the graphite settled at the bottom. The mass of the produced graphene was recorded.
RESULTS
The experimentation resulted in the production of large quantities of graphene using a kitchen blender together with a solution of acetone and water. This method had a maximum yield rate of 0.4g/hr in a small volume. This method has a better efficiency than the blender-dishwashing method which had a maximum yield rate of 0.1g/hr. A shear-exfoliation method in an acetone-water solution have scaled up the process and has proven the efficiency of low-boiling point solvents.
DISCUSSIONS
The shear-exfoliation of the graphene is dependent on the duration of the mixing. Any interruption in the shear-mixing caused a decrease in the quantity of the graphene produced. Three trials have shown the potential of its scalability in mass-producing graphene. The experiment was performed in a small quantity but still yielded a higher amount of graphene, thus, scaling up the process 4x faster using the concentration of 3:1 acetone-water. The scalability of the production can still be volume-based as long as the 75% volume fraction of acetone is acquired.
