A new method for producing powdered graphene

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a rapid increase in interest in graphene, a monoatomic layer of carbon associated with its unique properties. The article presents some of its characteristics and methods for obtaining graphene. The authors have carried out an analysis of the energies of atoms and layers of graphene and the effect of mechanical action on the splitting of layers. The article proposes a methodology and demonstrates a possibility of separating graphite layers and producing powdered graphene using segregation-type centrifugal concentrators based on consideration of the peculiarities of liquid-phase splitting of graphene in terms of vibrations caused by the thermal motion of carbon atoms. It is necessary to combine a centrifuge with the use of surfactants as a solvent, since for the successful separation of graphene monolayers it is
necessary that the interaction energy of the solvent with the graphene surface solvation energy solvation energy be of the same order of magnitude as the binding energy between the layers. It is proposed to use microcluster water to increase the efficiency of graphene yield without the use of surfactants.