Process for liquid phase exfoliation of graphite in labs-on-a-chip
PhD thesis under the supervision of:
Abstract
Liquid phase exfoliation of graphite is a simple and low-cost process, that is likely to produce graphene. The last few years, many researchers have used acoustic or hydrodynamic cavitation as an exfoliating tool. Acoustic cavitation is limited to low volumes and defects are present on the graphene sheets ; hydrodynamic cavitation inside a flowing solution acts briefly. So, people are using big reactors running with high pressure drops, and it is difficult from a fundamental point of view to know the physical role of shear rate versus cavitation, in the exfoliation process. We have tried to develop a new process funded on hydrodynamic cavitation ’on a chip’, with flow rates above 10 L/h and pressure drop below 10 bar. A new generation of ’labs on a chip’ has been designed and performed, processing with aqueous surfactant graphite solutions. The solid concentration and the duration of the process have proved to be key parameters. Cavitating microflows have exhibited a better efficiency (up to 6%) than laminar liquid microflows, for the production of graphene flakes. Collapsing bubbles and turbulence are also likely to enhance particles interactions. Such a microfluidic process, which requires an hydraulic power of a few Watt, makes possible a further low-cost and green production of graphene sheets.