Influence of modified perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylate with alkali metals ions as surfactant on the yield of hydrothermal liquid-phase exfoliated graphene sheets

• Published in: Carbon Letters
• Main Author: Ahmad N.J.; Mohamed R.; Malek M.F.; Sanusi S.M.; Muhamad M.A.; Ismail A.S.; Mahmood M.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85145502636&doi=10.1007%2fs42823-022-00442-7&partnerID=40&md5=e98ca4b406f24dc25c615523fdb5b3bd

Combination of liquid-phase exfoliation and hydrothermal method has progressed in recent years mainly on production of 2D materials. In this study, graphene was successfully synthesized via combinatorial of liquid-phase exfoliation and hydrothermal method with the aid of various conductive surfactants perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylate (PTCA), lithium perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylate (LiPTCA) and sodium perylene-3, 4, 9, 10-tetracarboxylate (NaPTCA). The effect of the lithium (Li+) and sodium (Na+) cations toward the efficiency of the graphene exfoliation process and its electrical properties was thoroughly investigated. Based on the characterization techniques, it is revealed that NaPTCA is the ideal conductive surfactant to exfoliate graphene sheets. X-ray diffraction spectra verified that the Na+ cation certainly can enhance the exfoliation process by expanding the interlayer spacing. The lateral size of the graphene sheets with Na-PTCA surfactant was the smallest (4.17 µm) as observed from SEM micrograph. The maximum concentration of the graphene yield was achieved up to 0.151 mgmL−1 in NaPTCA surfactant alongside with excellent electrical conductivity of 746.27 Sm−1 and relevant specific capacitance of 129 Fg−1. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Korean Carbon Society.