The production of graphene by direct liquid phase exfoliation of graphite at moderate sonication power by using low boiling liquid media: The effect of liquid media on yield and optimization

Abstract There are many production methods for graphene production. One of the most successful production methods in terms of scale-up is liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) method. In this study, after optimizing the sonication time and sonication power that are effective in the production to increase the efficiency of the LPE method, the experiments were continued at moderate sonication powers and the effect of liquid media, another important parameter, was examined. In this study, hexagonal graphite powders were subjected to direct liquid phase exfoliation process by using different liquid media (N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), ethanol, 2-propanol, acetone, methanesulfonic acid, ethanol + Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), 2-propanol + SDS) and the obtained samples were characterized. As a result of the characterization, the liquid media with the highest efficiency was determined to be NMP. Besides, it was observed that a new hybrid solvent obtained by adding a surfactant such as SDS into low-cost and environmentally friendly liquid media such as ethanol and 2-propanol showed a higher efficiency than NMP. It was observed that 3–5 layer graphene ranged between 15 and 19 wt% in either graphene produced by using hybrid solvents containing NMP or SDS. The amount of double or single-layer graphene was negligibly small. The production with the lowest efficiency was observed in the use of acetone. The produced graphenes were dispersed in the liquid and their sedimentation time was observed. The sedimentation time of graphenes, produced using NMP and SDS-doped hybrid solvents, in liquid was more than 120 days. The sedimentation time of graphene produced using acetone was less than 20 days. In the use of graphene as a reinforcing material or adsorbent, large amounts of graphene are needed. In such applications, mass production of graphene is important rather than the number or quality of sheets of graphene. Therefore, optimization of production parameters of LPE method, which is suitable for mass production, is significance.