Scalable production of large quantities of defect-free few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation in liquids

Paton, Keith R.; Varrla, Eswaraiah; Backes, Claudia; Smith, Ronan J.; Khan, Umar; O’Neill, Arlene; Boland, Conor S.; Lotya, Mustafa; Istrate, Oana M.; King, Paul J.; Higgins, Tom; Barwich, Sebastian; May, Peter; Puczkarski, Paweł; Ahmed, Iftikhar; Moebius, Matthias; Pettersson, Henrik; Long, Edmund; Coelho, João; O’Brien, Sean; McGuire, Eva; Sánchez, Beatriz Mendoza; Duesberg, Georg S.; McEvoy, Niall; Pennycook, Timothy J.; Downing, Clive; Crossley, Alison; Nicolosi, Valeria; Coleman, Jonathan N.

doi:10.1038/nmat3944

Cited by 2,066 publications

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“…Furthermore, the flakes do not show the typical terrace characteristics of layered materials but well‐defined structures with all heights being multiples of about 4 nm (Figures 1 d, e, 2 b, and S7). As it is well‐known that the apparent AFM heights of layers obtained by LPE can be overestimated because of residual solvent8, 9 as well as contributions from effects such as capillary and adhesion forces,10 it seems likely that the apparent mono/bilayer thickness is about 4 nm. The overall lateral dimensions of the isolated nanosheets are greater than 1–3 μm 2 (see Figure S4 for a statistical analysis).…”

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Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

et al. 2016

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We report on a fast and simple method to produce highly stable isopropanol/water (4:1) suspensions of few‐layer antimonene by liquid‐phase exfoliation of antimony crystals in a process that is assisted by sonication but does not require the addition of any surfactant. This straightforward method generates dispersions of few‐layer antimonene suitable for on‐surface isolation. Analysis by atomic force microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy confirmed the formation of high‐quality few‐layer antimonene nanosheets with large lateral dimensions. These nanolayers are extremely stable under ambient conditions. Their Raman signals are strongly thickness‐dependent, which was rationalized by means of density functional theory calculations.

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confidence: 99%

Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

et al. 2016

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“…We have carried out a systematic study on composite anodes of MoS2, produced by liquid phase exfoliation (LPE), 33,34 mixed with single walled nanotubes (SWNTs). The resultant composites could be formed into electrodes which were highly porous, extremely conductive and mechanically robust.…”

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Electrical, Mechanical, and Capacity Percolation Leads to High-Performance MoS₂/Nanotube Composite Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes

et al. 2016

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Advances in lithium ion batteries would facilitate technological developments inareas from electrical vehicles to mobile communications. While 2-dimensional systems like MoS2 are promising electrode materials due to their potentially high capacity, their poor ratecapability and low cycle-stability are severe handicaps. Here we study the electrical, mechanical and lithium storage properties of solution-processed MoS2/carbon nanotube anodes.Nanotube addition gives up to ×10 10 and ×40 increases in electrical conductivity and mechanical toughness respectively. The increased conductivity results in up to a ×100 capacity enhancement to ~1200 mAh/g (~3000 mAh/cm 3 ) at 0.1 A/g, while the improved toughness significantly boosts cycle stability. Composites with 20 wt% nanotubes combined high reversible capacity with excellent cycling stability (e.g. ~950 mAh/g after 500 cycles at 2 A/g) and high-rate capability (~600 mAh/g at 20 A/g). The conductivity, toughness and capacity scaled with nanotube content according to percolation theory while the stability increased sharply at the mechanical percolation threshold. We believe the improvements in conductivity and toughness obtained after addition of nanotubes can be transferred to other electrode materials such as silicon nanoparticles.Keywords: percolating, network, anode, mechanical 2 In recent years, lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have become the most common rechargeable power sources for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. 1, 2 Nevertheless, they still suffer from several problems; their energy and especially power densities have not fulfilled their ultimate potential while their safety record is not unblemished. 3 A significant problem is that graphite, the dominant anode material used in LIBs, is limited by a relatively low theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g. 4 As such, the development of the next-generation of LIBs, is expected to see the replacement of graphite-based anodes with alternative materials having higher capacity at similarly low cost. While a range of materials, including silicon, have been envisaged as future LIB anode materials, 4 of particular interest are 2-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials 5 such as graphene 6 and MoS2. 7 Over the last decade, 2D nano-materials have generated much excitement in the nanomaterials science community. [8][9][10] They come in many types including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and transition metal oxides (TMOs). These materials consist of covalently bonded monolayers which can stack via van der Waals interactions to form layered crystals. 8,9 Such 2D nanomaterials are often found as nanosheets with lateral size ranging from 10s of nm to microns and thickness of ~nm. 9 These materials have shown potential for applications 5 in both energy generation 11 and storage. 12 In the context of LIBs, exfoliated TMDs have received significant attention as prospective anode materials. 13,14 While bulk MoS2 was proposed 15 as a Li ion battery electrode material as early as 1980 due to its hi...

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“…As expected, bubble collapse generates mechanical force which is able to disrupt the weak intermolecular interactions present in layered materials (e.g. stacked graphene monolayers in the case of graphite).The liquid-phase exfoliation of graphene has recently been accomplished by means of a high-shear mixer, as long as the local shear rate exceeds 10 4 s -1 [63]. In this context, parallelisms with ultrasound-induced shear forces should be scrutinized in terms of acoustic power [64], as exfoliation and dispersion depend on inertial cavitation and not on the stable stages [65].…”

Section: Exfoliation Of Layered Materialsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Interplay Between Mechanochemistry and Sonochemistry

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et al. 2014

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Scalable production of large quantities of defect-free few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation in liquids

Cited by 2,066 publications

References 30 publications

Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

Electrical, Mechanical, and Capacity Percolation Leads to High-Performance MoS₂/Nanotube Composite Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes

Interplay Between Mechanochemistry and Sonochemistry

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Scalable production of large quantities of defect-free few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation in liquids

Cited by 2,066 publications

References 30 publications

Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

Few‐Layer Antimonene by Liquid‐Phase Exfoliation

Electrical, Mechanical, and Capacity Percolation Leads to High-Performance MoS2/Nanotube Composite Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes

Interplay Between Mechanochemistry and Sonochemistry

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Electrical, Mechanical, and Capacity Percolation Leads to High-Performance MoS₂/Nanotube Composite Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes