Challenges in Liquid-Phase Exfoliation, Processing, and Assembly of Pristine Graphene

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Advancements in graphene production require standardized quality and processability metrics.
• Understanding pristine graphene's behavior is crucial for its industrial application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline metrics for assessing pristine graphene quality and industrial scale-up potential.
• To review the chemical engineering aspects of pristine graphene production.
• To explore the colloidal stability and applications of pristine graphene.

Main Methods:

• Describing recent developments in exfoliation, dispersion, and processing of pristine graphene.
• Categorizing the production process into pretreatment, exfoliation, and separation.
• Reviewing pristine graphene's colloidal stability and solvent interactions.

Main Results:

• Established metrics for evaluating graphene product quality and processability.
• Detailed a chemical engineering framework for pristine graphene production.
• Highlighted the distinct nature of colloidal stability and its dependence on solvent interactions.

Conclusions:

• Pristine graphene production can be systematically understood and optimized.
• Standardized metrics are essential for reliable industrial scale-up.
• Pristine graphene offers significant potential in polymer composites and macrostructure assemblies.