Effect of surfactants on preparation of high concentration graphene aqueous dispersion

Abstract

The effects of surfactant structure and concentration on the preparation of high concent-ration graphene aqueous dispersion by HPH-LPE were systematically studied by UV-Vis spectra, TEM and laser granularity analyser. Three different types of surfactants were used:anionic,cationic and non-ionic. It is found that long hydrophobic segment, double bond and benzene ring structure is the key structure that can promote the performance of the surfactant and the optimum concentration of the surfactant is slightly higher than critical micelle concentration (CCMC).In the test range, Tween80 presents the best performance. The optimum concentration is 0.012mmol·L-1,and the obtained graphene aqueous dispersion concentration is 564.3mg·L-1. However, it seems no significant effect on the graphene quality of surfactant structure and concentration.

Keywords

• surfactant
• structure
• concentration
• graphene aqueous dispersion