The production of smectite clay/graphene composites through delamination and co-stacking

Layers from delaminated colloidal dispersions of two structurally different layered solids-octylamine-intercalated graphite oxide and cetyltrimethylammonium-intercalated smectite - could be costacked to obtain smectite clay/graphite oxide composites. The layers of the two parent solids were randomly stacked together in these composites. On thermal decomposition the graphite oxide sheets in the composites are reduced to graphene sheets resulting in clay/graphene composites. The composition is not uniform in these composites, which have many smectite-rich and carbon-rich regions. The clay component of the clay/graphene composites could be leached out to obtain exfoliated graphite. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.