Effect of Thermal Treatment on Production of Graphene from Graphite via Exfoliation in Organic Solvent (Acetonitrile).

Graphite flakes were divided into two equal parts Part A and Part B. Part A was thermally shocked at 800oC under inert atmosphere of argon for two min before exfoliation under sonic tip while Part B was exfoliated as such using acetonitrile (ACN) as exfoliating media in both cases at 15-20oC. The concentration of the graphene as a result of exfoliation and centrifugation at 500 rpm for 45 min in both cases were determined. After ten hours of sonication the concentration of graphene in Part A is >12mg/ml with few layered thickness while that of Part B was <5mg/ml consisting of more layers than Part A. UV spectroscopy, Raman, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used for the study of these nanoflakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]