Poly(ionic liquid)s as phase-transporter for graphene oxide liquid crystals from aqueous to non-polar organic phase via noncovalent functionalization

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe synthesise a novel poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) and develop a procedure that allows the phase transfer of graphene oxides (GO) from water to organic solvent, retaining graphene oxide liquid crystal (GOLC) phase in various organic solvents, especially non-polar organic solvents. PIL ([PEP-MIM]DBS) is exploited in this procedure as a noncovalent functional material that is capable of transporting GO from aqueous to non-polar organic phase. PILs can decorate GO noncovalently and keep GO nano-sheets exfoliated in solid-state PILs/GO hybrids, which can well redisperse in organic solvents without any agglomeration. This expands the number of known solvents which can support GOLC phase to dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, and a number of other non-polar organic solvents, many of which were not known to afford GOLC phase prior to this report, such as dichloromethane, tetrachloromethane, dichloroethane and tetrachloroethane.