Size selection of dispersed, exfoliated graphene flakes by controlled centrifugation

Abstract

Liquid exfoliation of graphene generally results in flakes with lateral size of one micron or less on average, too small for many applications. In this paper we describe a method to separate an existing dispersion with mean flake length of ∼1 μm into fractions, each with different mean flake size. The initial dispersion is centrifuged at a high centrifugation rate, separating small flakes in the supernatant from large flakes in the sediment. Redispersion of the sediment, followed by successive centrifugation, separation and redispersion cycles can be used to separate the flakes by size so long as the centrifugation rate is decreased with each cycle. This procedure results in a range of dispersions with mean flake length varying from 1 μm for the highest final centrifugation rate to 3.5 μm for the sample whose final centrifugation rate was 500 rpm.