High-quality few layer graphene produced by electrochemical intercalation and microwave-assisted expansion of graphite

Few-layer graphene is synthesized from electrochemically-produced graphite intercalation compounds in aqueous perchloric acid. Although anodic intercalation is more efficient in terms of time, cathodic pre-treatment is preferred to avoid the formation of graphite oxide. The materials are characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible, infrared and Raman spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the method, under the experimental conditions used in this work, does not produce damage to the sp(2) carbon lattice. The synthetic approach using electrochemical-potential control is very promising to obtain, in a controllable manner, graphene with different degrees of oxidation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.