Volume 10,Issue 8
Electrochemical Oxidation Dispersion of Graphene and Improvement of Its Compatibility with Coating Matrices
The research employs a mild, controllable, and efficient electrochemical oxidation process using high-quality monolayer graphene powder prepared by a liquid-phase thermochemical route as the starting material. By optimizing key parameters including applied voltage and electrolyte concentration, a small number of hydrophilic oxygen-containing functional groups were selectively introduced at the edges of graphene, yielding a stably dispersed aqueous solution. The optimal conditions were determined as: graphene sheet anode, copper cathode, 0.4 mol/L NaOH electrolyte, voltage 8 V, and treatment time 30 min. Raman spectroscopy revealed an ID/IG ratio of 0.42. Thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that the oxygen content of electrochemically oxidized graphene (EGO) is low and that oxygen species are predominantly located at the edges; after reduction, the oxygen signals completely vanished, whereas residual oxygen remained in reduced GO. The as-prepared EGO aqueous dispersion achieved a concentration of 0.66 mg/mL and remained stable over six months of storage. TEM and AFM verified that the product retains a monolayer structure with an intact lattice. This approach preserves the intrinsic structure of graphene to the greatest extent while ensuring satisfactory dispersibility, thus offering a feasible pathway for fabricating high-performance graphene/siloxane ceramic resins and heavy-duty anti-corrosion coatings.
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