It is difficult to achieve high efficiency production of hydrophobic graphene by liquid phase exfoliation due to its poor dispersibility and the tendency of graphene sheets to undergo π−π stacking. Here, we report a water-phase, non-dispersion exfoliation method to produce highly crystalline graphene flakes, which can be stored in the form of a concentrated slurry (50 mg mL⁻¹) or filter cake for months without the risk of re-stacking. The as-exfoliated graphene slurry can be directly used for 3D printing, as well as fabricating conductive graphene aerogels and graphene−polymer composites, thus avoiding the use of copious quantities of organic solvents and lowering the manufacturing cost. This non-dispersion strategy paves the way for the cost-effective and environmentally friendly production of graphene-based materials.

This work has been published on Nature Communications, see details:

Lei Dong, Zhongxin Chen, Xiaoxu Zhao, Jianhua Ma, Shan Lin, Mengxiong Li, Yang Bao, Leiqiang Chu, Kai Leng, Hongbin Lu and Kian Ping Loh. A Non-Dispersion Strategy for Large-Scale Production of Ultra-High Concentration Graphene Slurries in Water. Nature Communications, 2018, doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02580-3 Link