Electrostatic Stabilization of Graphene in Organic Dispersions

The exfoliation of graphite to give graphene dispersions in nonaqueous solvents is an important area with regards to scalable production of graphene in bulk quantities and its ultimate application in devices. Understanding the mechanisms governing the stability of these dispersions is therefore of both scientific interest and technological importance. Herein, we have used addition of an indifferent electrolyte to perturb few-layer graphene dispersions in a nonaqueous solvent (1,2-dichloroethane) as a way to probe the importance of interparticle electrostatic repulsions toward the overall dispersion stability. At a sufficient electrolyte concentration, complete sedimentation of the dispersions occurred over 24 h, and the relationship between dispersed graphene concentration and electrolyte concentration was consistent with a dispersion stabilized by electrostatic repulsions. We also found that an increased oxygen content in the graphite starting material produced dispersions of greater stability, indicating that the extent of oxidation is an important parameter in determining the extent of electrostatic stabilization in nonaqueous graphene dispersions.