Efficient large-scale preparation of defect-free few-layer graphene using a conjugated ionic liquid as green media and its polyetherimide composite

Abstract It is very important to obtain large-scale and high-quality graphene for its application. However, the efficient preparation of large-scale and defect-free graphene is difficult by using a general method. In this report, a conjugated ionic liquid (IL) is designed and synthesized, which is used as a green medium to easily exfoliate graphite into graphene with the assistance of microwave irradiation. The as-prepared IL-functionized graphene nanoplatelets (GNPIL) is few-layer, large-size and defect-free, which is attributed to the strong π-π and cation-π interactions between conjugated IL and graphene layers. And the results show that a relatively high yield of 40% is obtained. The high-quality GNPIL could be dispersed in organic solvent homogeneously and stably with a high content, which is beneficial for its further applications. Furthermore, this GNPIL is used to composite with polyetherimide (PEI) to improve the conductivity of polymer. As compared with pure PEI, a sharp decrease of 11 orders of magnitude in volume resistivity is obtained for PEI composite with only 0.75 wt% GNPIL, which keeps a good mechanical property as well.