Abstract
Currently, particle analysis of 2D materials in suspension is commonly restricted to microscopic techniques in the dry state, and thus does not permit an accurate investigation of colloidal suspensions. Colloids in bulk can be assessed by light scattering and diffraction to investigate features such as their hydrodynamic size, charge and concentration. However, the main drawback of such techniques lies in the application of analytical and computational methods based on models assuming particle sphericity which are not representative for 2D materials. Resonance mass measurement (RMM) is a technique which can enable the analysis of 2D materials in suspension without the assumptions of spherical models. Here, we report the application of RMM to measure particle mass and concentration for three types of graphene oxide (GO) aqueous dispersions. Using micro- and nano-suspended resonating sensors, we were able to decipher gravimetric differences between GO and graphitic materials. Our results support the urge for proper definitions and standardisations of graphene based materials, and offer a new method of characterisation for 2D material colloids in liquid suspension.
Highlights
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, starting with graphene-based materials (GBMs), are expected to be incorporated into a vast range of applications from electronics to materials science and from aerospace engineering to biomedicine (Novoselov et al 2012, Dimitrios et al 2013, Randviir et al 2014)
Lab graphene oxide (GO) and Commercial GO-A presented the typical Raman fingerprints, whereas the spectra of Commercial GO-B indicated the existence of graphitic domains by the splitting of the G band to G + D’ and by the presence of a sharp 2D peak (figure 2(A)) (Pimenta et al 2007)
This study emphasises the potential of Resonance mass measurement (RMM) as a novel technique for the characterisation of 2D materials, providing unique information such as the mass and number of individual particles or aggregates in suspension
Summary
Particle analysis of 2D materials in suspension is commonly restricted to microscopic techniques in the dry state, and does not permit an accurate investigation of colloidal suspensions. The main drawback of such techniques lies in the application of analytical and computational methods based on models assuming particle sphericity which are not representative for 2D materials. Resonance mass measurement (RMM) is a technique which can enable the analysis of 2D materials in suspension without the assumptions of spherical models. We report the application of RMM to measure particle mass and concentration for three types of graphene oxide (GO) aqueous dispersions. Our results support the urge for proper definitions and standardisations of graphene based materials, and offer a new method of characterisation for 2D material colloids in liquid suspension
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