Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte
Cathodic exfoliation of graphite has emerged as an attractive method to synthesize high-quality and lo- defect graphene. Here, it is demonstrated that the type of starting graphite material influences the properties of exfoliated graphene. Graphite foil, natural graphite, and graphite rods were exam...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Md Habibullah Dalal Nuwan Hegoda Arachchi Chong-Yong Lee Gordon G. Wallace |
| author_facet | Md Habibullah Dalal Nuwan Hegoda Arachchi Chong-Yong Lee Gordon G. Wallace |
| author_sort | Md Habibullah Dalal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cathodic exfoliation of graphite has emerged as an attractive method to synthesize high-quality and lo- defect graphene. Here, it is demonstrated that the type of starting graphite material influences the properties of exfoliated graphene. Graphite foil, natural graphite, and graphite rods were examined in the exfoliation processes performed in 3.0 M KCl at −15 V. The use of a graphite foil facilitates the rapid cathodic exfoliation process in comparison with structurally more compact natural graphite and graphite rods. For the graphite foil, the cathodically exfoliated graphene exhibits a low defect density (<i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.09, a C/O ratio of 35) with graphite exfoliation yield of 92.8%. In contrast, the exfoliated graphene from natural graphite exhibits an <i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.15, a C/O ratio of 28, and a graphite exfoliation yield of 30.5%, whereas graphene from graphite rod exhibits an <i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.86, a C/O ratio of 30, and a graphite exfoliation yield of 19.5%. The dense structure of natural graphite and graphite rods led to longer exfoliation times. Exfoliation of graphite rods produced few-layer graphene with the smallest sheet size, whereas natural graphite and graphite foil yielded multilayer graphene with larger sheets. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using aqueous-based cathodic exfoliation to produce graphene from various graphite sources, leading to variations in sheet thickness, size, defect density, and solvent dispersibility. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ce22b2b234d450fa7566ecc0010f070 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ce22b2b234d450fa7566ecc0010f0702025-08-20T03:36:31ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-07-013015315110.3390/molecules30153151Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride ElectrolyteMd Habibullah Dalal0Nuwan Hegoda Arachchi1Chong-Yong Lee2Gordon G. Wallace3Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, AIIM Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, AustraliaIntelligent Polymer Research Institute, AIIM Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, AustraliaIntelligent Polymer Research Institute, AIIM Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, AustraliaIntelligent Polymer Research Institute, AIIM Facility, Faculty of Engineering and Information Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, AustraliaCathodic exfoliation of graphite has emerged as an attractive method to synthesize high-quality and lo- defect graphene. Here, it is demonstrated that the type of starting graphite material influences the properties of exfoliated graphene. Graphite foil, natural graphite, and graphite rods were examined in the exfoliation processes performed in 3.0 M KCl at −15 V. The use of a graphite foil facilitates the rapid cathodic exfoliation process in comparison with structurally more compact natural graphite and graphite rods. For the graphite foil, the cathodically exfoliated graphene exhibits a low defect density (<i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.09, a C/O ratio of 35) with graphite exfoliation yield of 92.8%. In contrast, the exfoliated graphene from natural graphite exhibits an <i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.15, a C/O ratio of 28, and a graphite exfoliation yield of 30.5%, whereas graphene from graphite rod exhibits an <i>I</i><sub>D</sub>/<i>I</i><sub>G</sub> of 0.86, a C/O ratio of 30, and a graphite exfoliation yield of 19.5%. The dense structure of natural graphite and graphite rods led to longer exfoliation times. Exfoliation of graphite rods produced few-layer graphene with the smallest sheet size, whereas natural graphite and graphite foil yielded multilayer graphene with larger sheets. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using aqueous-based cathodic exfoliation to produce graphene from various graphite sources, leading to variations in sheet thickness, size, defect density, and solvent dispersibility.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/15/3151cathodic exfoliationgraphenegraphite sourcesdegree of graphitization |
| spellingShingle | Md Habibullah Dalal Nuwan Hegoda Arachchi Chong-Yong Lee Gordon G. Wallace Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte Molecules cathodic exfoliation graphene graphite sources degree of graphitization |
| title | Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte |
| title_full | Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte |
| title_fullStr | Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte |
| title_short | Cathodic Exfoliation of Various Graphite Materials in Potassium Chloride Electrolyte |
| title_sort | cathodic exfoliation of various graphite materials in potassium chloride electrolyte |
| topic | cathodic exfoliation graphene graphite sources degree of graphitization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/15/3151 |
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