A novel 'bottom-up' synthesis of few- and multi-layer graphene platelets with partial oxidation via cavitation

Richard J Price; Paul I Ladislaus; Graham C Smith; Trevor J Davies

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.03.020

A novel 'bottom-up' synthesis of few- and multi-layer graphene platelets with partial oxidation via cavitation

Ultrason Sonochem. 2019 Sep:56:466-473. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.03.020. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Authors

Richard J Price¹, Paul I Ladislaus², Graham C Smith³, Trevor J Davies³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Chester, Thornton Science Park, Pool Lane, Ince, Chester CH2 4NU, UK. Electronic address: r.price@chester.ac.uk.
² Thomas Swan Ltd., Rotary Way, Consett, County Durham DH8 7ND, UK.
³ Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Chester, Thornton Science Park, Pool Lane, Ince, Chester CH2 4NU, UK.

PMID: 31101286
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.03.020

Abstract

The transient cavitation of diaromatic components such as 1-methylnaphthalene has been used to produce graphene platelets in a 'bottom-up' synthesis via the high temperature (>5000 K) conditions that are generated inside collapsing bubbles. Acoustic cavitation produced yields of 5.7 × 10^-11 kgJ^-1 at a production rate of 2.2 × 10^-9 kgs^-1. This can be improved by generating cavitation hydrodynamically, thus making commercial scale production viable. Hydrodynamic cavitation produced platelets with larger lateral dimensions (≥2 µm) than those formed by acoustic cavitation (10-200 nm). The partially oxidised nature of the platelets enables their covalent chemical functionalisation, which was achieved by combining suitable molecules in the reaction medium to affect a one-pot formation and functionalisation of graphene.

Keywords: Cavitation; Functionalisation; Graphene; Hydrodynamic; Synthesis; Ultrasound.