Improved Dispersibility of Graphene in an Aqueous Solution by Reduced Graphene Oxide Surfactant: Experimental...

It is difficult to disperse graphene flakes well in an aqueous solution while maintaining conductivity due to its high hydrophobicity. Herein, we demonstrated that a well-dispersed state of graphene in an aqueous solution was realized by using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with a suitable content of oxygen-functional groups. A rGO-dispersed graphene (rGO/G) film was fabricated from the graphene dispersion with good conductivity by using rGO with a C/O ratio of 2.48 as the surfactant. Also, the prepared rGO/G aerogel has a broad prospect. Density functional theory calculation revealed that the strong electrostatic repulsion, which was more potent than the van der Waals force and the π-π interaction, was the primary driving force promoting the dispersibility of graphene in an aqueous solution. Furthermore, the repulsion of the rGO/G dispersion decreased with the reduction of the oxygen-functional groups of rGO. Therefore, applying rGO with an appropriate content of oxygen-functional groups is an alternative option to improve the dispersibility of graphene in an aqueous medium while maintaining its original properties, from which many potential applications could be expected.