Exfoliation of Graphene in Sustainable Solvents from Graphite (09/01/25)
Speaker and Affliation:
Dr. Eswaraiah Varrla
Assistant Professor, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Tamil Nadu.
When?
09th January, 2025 (Thursday), 4.00 PM (India Standard Time)
Where
Online
Host
Prof. Arindam Ghosh
Abstract:
The discovery of graphene in 2004 triggered widespread research on this wonder material across academia and industry worldwide, with the goal of bringing it to the market for consumer use due to its exceptional combination of physical properties. To achieve this, graphene must be produced on a larger scale without compromising its quality for specific applications. Although the very first method, micromechanical exfoliation, produces high-quality graphene, it lacks scalability. On the other hand, graphene synthesis through a two-step approach using graphite oxide involves dangerous chemicals, even though it addresses scalability and is currently under development.
In this talk, I present a simple approach using liquid-phase exfoliation to convert graphite into ultra-thin graphene nanosheets in environmentally friendly solvents and stabilizers. The stabilization mechanism is explained by steric repulsive forces for non-ionic surfactants. The quality of the graphene is evaluated using microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. Our recent results demonstrate that graphene in water can be stabilized using naturally occurring surfactants, which address both carbon emissions and energy efficiency.
Keywords: Graphite, exfoliation, scale-up, microscopy and sustainable