Stability of graphene dispersions - Study of polymer-assisted exfoliation -

Introduction

Two-dimensional graphene is of great interest in various fields: composites,

barrier coatings, solar cells, transistors, biomedical applications. This material of

nanometric thickness offers remarkable mechanical properties but its mass

production at a reasonable cost remains a challenge. Mechanical or chemical

exfoliation of graphite may be a promising solution.

This intercalation process, resulting in the complete separation of the material’s

layers, suffers however from several drawbacks, such as reaggregation of

graphite platelets or migration of surfactant molecules, which could be a source

of reduced material properties. This paper describes how Turbiscan® technology

can be used to study the stability of graphene platelets dispersions (GPD) to

detect nascent evolutions and select best suited polymer to stabilize the

dispersion.