Synthesis and characterization of stable aqueous dispersions of graphene

[摘要] A stable aqueous dispersion (5 mg ml$^{−1}$) of graphene was synthesized by a simple protocol based on three-step reduction of graphene oxide (GO) dispersion synthesized using the modified version of Hummers and Offeman method. Reduction of GO was carried out using sodium borohydride, hydrazine hydrate and dimethyl hydrazine as reducing agents. The chemically synthesized graphene was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), optical microscopy. The stability of aqueous dispersions of graphene was confirmed through zeta potential measurements and the negative zeta potentials of 55–60 mV were obtained indicating the high stability of aqueous graphene dispersions.

[学科分类] 材料工程

[关键词] Graphene;zeta potential;graphene oxide;graphite;dispersion;Raman spectroscopy.