Fabrication of low-layer graphene materials from graphite using high power density ultrasonication technique

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results obtained by using high-power density ultrasonic technique to fabricate low-layer graphene materials. An ultrasonic vibration device with a power density of 2 kW/L is used to exfoliate graphite materials (from Van Yen - Yen Bai mine) into graphene with the presence of Tween-80 in distilled water with a short ultrasonication time from 1 hour to 5 hours. FE-SEM, HR-TEM, Raman, and ZetaSizer measurements have shown that high power density ultrasound is highly effective in breaking Van der Walls bonding forces and separating the graphite layer into graphene with a thickness of about 3 nm, the flake size is mainly distributed around 88-235 nm after 5 hours of ultrasound. These results suggest that the liquid-phase exfoliation using the high power density ultrasonication technique is an efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective method to obtain high-quality and low-defective graphene materials.