Nanographenes from Distinct Carbon Sources

This article reports production protocols for nanographenes and the effect of the reaction conditions on their structures and optical properties. These fundamental studies are of value for exploring suitable reaction conditions for the production of nanographenes with desirable properties. Graphite, finely crushed graphite powders, and artificial graphite, all of which are commercially available, are employed. Nanographenes are produced by the acid-assisted oxidative cleavage of the parent carbons followed by neutralization and deionization. The use of dialysis membranes for the size separation of nanographenes offers nanographenes with a specific size distribution, thereby allowing their structures and optical properties to be compared. Experiments demonstrate that small amounts of acids (60 ml of conc. H2SO4 and 20 mL of 60% HNO3) and oxidation for 12 h promotes a more efficient and cost-effective production of nanographenes from 2 g of a carbon source. The functionalization of the nanographene edges with p-propargyloxybenzyl amine confirms that the armchair edge with two carboxy groups is the dominant edge structure, irrespective of the carbon source.