Nanodiamonds as a knife for cutting graphene multilayers into ultrafine pieces under microwave irradiation

Abstract

Graphene (Gr) has proved its potential as a successful material for various types of applications. However, poor dispersion due to the strong π–π stacking interactions between their layers limits its properties and potential as an effective material in some practical applications. In this work nanodiamonds (NDs) were successfully used under microwave irradiation for exfoliation/cutting Gr multi-layered sheets into ultrafine pieces of nanocomposite Gr-NDs of sizes less than 50 nm with a high yield of ∼ 93 %. A micro-mixing of xylene solution of NDs with a few Gr layers colloidal in dimethylformamide (DMF) were used without surfactant catalysts or other auxiliary substances. The nanocomposite hybrid material was prepared using the microwave-assisted chemical route at 1000 W for 30 mins. The new Gr-NDs nanocomposite was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Hence, we successfully fabricated 48.8 mg of Gr-NDs nanocomposite from 40 mL of the two solutions in the microwave digester, which might be useful for several applications including energy storage, electronics, sensors, etc.