Rational and practical exfoliation of graphite using well-defined poly(3-hexylthiophene) for the preparation of conductive polymer/graphene composite

Abstract

Processing and manipulation of highly conductive pristine graphene in large quantities are still major challenges in the practical application of graphene for electric device. In the present study, we report the liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite in toluene using well-defined poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) to produce a P3HT/graphene composite. We synthesize and use regioregular P3HT with controlled molecular weights as conductive dispersants for graphene. Simple ultrasonication of graphite flakes with the P3HT successfully produces single-layer and few-layer graphene sheets dispersed in toluene. The produced P3HT/graphene composite can be used as conductive graphene ink, indicating that the P3HT/graphene composite has high electrical conductivity owing to the high conductivity of P3HT and graphene. The P3HT/graphene composite also works as an oxidation-resistant and conductive film for a copper substrate, which is due to the high gas-barrier property of graphene.

From 2D Graphene Nanosheets to 3D Graphene‐based Macrostructures

“…Apart from the development of exfoliation by means of a mechanical strategy, researchers have also combined the mechanical exfoliation with the effect of chemicals, such approach is known as liquid phase exfoliation (LPE). Basically, the used solvents, polymers and surfactants promote the exfoliation process and allow the formation of uniform graphene dispersion. LPE mainly consists of two different graphite exfoliation processes, which either by sonication or shearing forces in a high shear mixture.…”

Graphene Ink Film Based Electrochemical Detector for Paracetamol Analysis

“…In order to keep the shelf life of the graphene ink, many works have been devoted using graphene oxide and its derivatives as the ink raw materials due to their well dispersibility compared with that of the graphene sheets [19][20][21][22][23]. Later on, exfoliated graphene sheets with different stabilizer agents also have been mixed to make stable inks [24][25][26]. However, these chemically modified graphene inks always suffer from the limitation of conductivity.…”

Carbon-Based, Ultraelastic, Hierarchically Coated Fiber Strain Sensors with Crack-Controllable Beads

“…The PDMS beads were synthesized by Shirasu porous glass membrane emulsification (see Figures b, S3, and the Methods section for fabrication details). CB nanoparticles are the conductive filler in the PU/CB matrix, whereas P3HT molecules increase the molecular interactions among the CB nanoparticles for enhanced electrical properties. , As shown in Figure c, the conductive suspension was coated on a surface-treated, stretchable polymeric fiber through a facile dipping method (see Figures S4 and S5 for conductive pastes). The PDMS microbeads (ave. ≈ 100 μm in diameter) dispersed on the fiber surface are hierarchically scattered with CB nanoparticles to derive the conductive hierarchical fiber (see the inset images of Figure c and the Methods section for fabrication details).…”