Preparation and dispersion behavior of silylated graphite oxide intercalated by n-hexadecylamine

The dispersion behavior of n-hexadecylamine-intercalated silylated graphite oxide in a chloroform/cyclohexane mixture was investigated. When 1.2 molecules of n-hexadecylamine per graphite oxide unit were added, the interlayer gallery of the silylated graphite oxide was saturated by n-hexadecylamine molecules, and the interlayer spacing reached 3.1 nm. The resulting intercalation compounds dispersed well in a chloroform/cyclohexane solution. After centrifugation, the intercalation compounds with lower n-hexadecylamine contents mostly precipitated, however, the dispersion of those with higher n-hexadecylamine contents were stable until the concentration reached 0.6 g of graphite oxide/L. This was ascribed to the weaker interaction between the alkyl chains bonded to the adjacent graphite oxide layers forming a bilayer of alkyl chains within a gallery.