Increasing yield of graphene synthesis from oil palm empty fruit bunch via two-stages pyrolysis

Abstract

Graphene is a 2D hexagonal lattice structure of sp2 carbon atoms which has been acknowledged for its superior electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Production of graphene in large scale and low cost are attracting topic in recent years. Previous study shows that production of graphene from biomass via pyrolysis has low yield of graphene. In this study, we produced graphene sheets from oil palm empty fruit bunch via two-stages pyrolysis to increase the yield. The produced graphene sheets were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering, and X-ray diffraction. Surface properties (i.e. effective surface areas, pore volumes, and pore size distributions) were studied by nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements. Effect of the first stage temperature of pyrolysis on the yield, structure, and properties of graphene has been investigated. Our result indicated that two-stages pyrolysis could increase the yield of graphene up to 70%. Graphene sheets shows favorable features of nanosheet frameworks (4–10 atomic layers) and high surface area (870 m2 g−1).