Graphene nanosheets from the controlled explosion of aromatic hydrocarbons
Shusil Sigdel,
Justin P. Wright,
Jose Covarrubias,
Archana Sekar,
Kamalambika Mutthukumar,
Stefan H. Bossmann,
Jun Li,
Arjun Nepal,
Stephen Corkill,
Christopher M. Sorensen
Affiliations
Shusil Sigdel
Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Justin P. Wright
Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Jose Covarrubias
Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Archana Sekar
Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Kamalambika Mutthukumar
Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Stefan H. Bossmann
Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
Jun Li
Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Arjun Nepal
Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Stephen Corkill
Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; Hydrograph Clean Power Inc., Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
Christopher M. Sorensen
Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; Hydrograph Clean Power Inc., Manhattan, KS 66502, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
Explosions of benzene, toluene and xylenes were carried out in a 16.7 L chamber in the presence of O2 at different fuel-rich molar ratios such that an aerosol of elemental carbon was produced. The product was a powder at higher precursor oxygen content and an aerosol gel at lower oxygen where the carbon yield was larger. The explosion temperature was measured by a spectrometer that detected black body, Planck radiation from the incandescent carbon, the analysis of which indicated temperatures in the range 2000–2500 K. The product collected was characterized by Raman, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) specific surface area, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), etc. HRTEM and Raman showed two product types: amorphous soot at a lower explosion temperature and few-layer graphene at a higher explosion temperature. BET showed that the graphene sample is highly porous and has a specific surface area of 388 m2/g. We conclude that chamber explosion of aromatic hydrocarbons can produce graphene, and the high explosion temperature during the reaction is the primary reason graphene is formed rather than soot.
