Graphene from Graphite by Chemical and Physical Techniques

8 Abstract Graphene is a material with extraordinary properties. Its mechanical and electrical properties are unparalleled but the difficulties in its production are hindering its breakthrough in on applications. Graphene is a two-dimensional material made entirely of carbon atoms and it is only a single atom thick. In this work, properties of graphene and graphene based materials are described, together with their common preparation techniques and related challenges. This Thesis concentrates on the topdown techniques, in which natural graphite is used as a precursor for the graphene production. Graphite consists of graphene sheets, which are stacked together tightly. In the top-down techniques various physical or chemical routes are used to overcome the forces keeping the graphene sheets together, and many of them are described in the Thesis. The most common chemical method is the oxidisation of graphite with strong oxidants, which creates a water-soluble graphene oxide. The properties of graphene oxide differ significantly from pristine graphene and, therefore, graphene oxide is often reduced to form materials collectively known as reduced graphene oxide. In the experimental part, the main focus is on the chemical and electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide. A novel chemical route using vanadium is introduced and compared to other common chemical graphene oxide reduction methods. A strong emphasis is placed on electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide in various solvents. Raman and infrared spectroscopy are both used in in situ spectroelectrochemistry to closely monitor the spectral changes during the reduction process. These in situ techniques allow the precise control over the reduction process and even small changes in the material can be detected. Graphene and few layer graphene were also prepared using a physical force to separate these materials from graphite. Special adsorbate molecules in aqueous solutions, together with sonic treatment, produce stable dispersions of graphene and few layer graphene sheets in water. This mechanical exfoliation method damages the graphene sheets considerable less than the chemical methods, although it suffers from a lower yield.