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Scalable high yield exfoliation for monolayer nanosheets
Zhuyuan Wang1, Xue Yan2, Qinfu Hou1
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
Nature Communications
|January 16, 2023
Summary
A new ball-milling method using polyethyleneimine (PEI) liquid enables scalable, high-yield production of monolayer 2D nanosheets. This breakthrough facilitates the industrialization of advanced materials like graphene and hexagonal boron nitride.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer significant advantages across various fields.
- Scalable, high-yield production of monolayer 2D materials remains a critical challenge for practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a facile and scalable method for producing monolayer 2D nanosheets.
- To demonstrate the versatility of the technique across different layered materials.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a ball-milling exfoliation process assisted by viscous polyethyleneimine (PEI) liquid.
- Applied the method to graphite, carbon nitride, covalent organic frameworks, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, and hexagonal boron nitride.
Main Results:
- Achieved a high monolayer percentage (97.9%) of graphene nanosheets with a yield of 78.3% from graphite.
- Successfully exfoliated other representative layered materials, confirming the technique's universality.
Conclusions:
- The developed ball-milling exfoliation technique offers a scalable and efficient route to monolayer 2D nanosheets.
- This method has the potential to accelerate the synthesis and industrialization of diverse 2D materials.
