Graphene, a single sheet of sp2-hybridized carbon, has quickly become a very interesting material due to its outstanding properties.  However, an easy route to large-scale production of pristine graphene has yet to be found. Functionalized graphene sheets are prepared by a two-step process of chemical oxidation and thermal reduction and exfoliation. A variety of different techniques are used to characterize graphite, graphene oxide, and the functionalized graphene sheets to verify differences between the materials as well as to quantify the quality of material prepared.  Some of the techniques used include X-ray diffraction, XPS, Raman spectroscopy and BET surface area. The properties of graphene would be very useful in many devices but the sheets are not very compatible with many common procedures. A method currently being studied is using functionalized graphene to form an interface between immiscible solvents.

Synthesis and characterization of functionalized graphene sheets by thermal exfoliation

240th National Meeting (2010)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.