Preparation of graphene samples via electrochemical exfoliation of pencil electrode: Physico-electrochemical Characterization

Abstract

Graphene Oxide (GO) and Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) are an advanced carbon materials due to their excellent properties. This article presents a facile route to synthesize GO by an electrochemical exfoliation route of pencil graphite at ambient temperature. The developed process for graphite electrode exfoliation has lead to a stable multi-layer dispersion of GO/rGO mixture. The exfoliated graphene solution was sonicated for 35 minutes to obtain a uniform dispersion. The prepared product was characterized by Physical (XRD, UV-Vis, FTIR) and electrochemical (CV, EIS) techniques. The product characterization using XRD resulted in the (002) graphite characteristic diffraction peak at 2θ = 26,43° matching a d-spacing of 3,37Ǻ, as the coexistence of GO at (001) reflection signal with 2θ = 11,79° and rGO at 2θ = 23,84° corresponding to a d-spacing of 8,19 and 3,73Ǻ, respectively. The performance of the prepared graphene was tested based on the results of the electrochemical parameters (charge transfer, peak intensity, and reversibility…) of the [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− redox system. This alternative method for graphene synthesis showed a good controllable oxidation level, which makes it an attractive precursor concerning sensing, by considering its interesting properties.

Keywords

• Pencil graphite
• Graphene
• Electrochemical exfoliation