Exfoliated soluble graphite

Reduction of graphite by lithium in liquid ammonia yields graphite salts that can be reacted with dodecyl iodide to yield soluble dodecylated graphite. The height of the soluble graphite nanoplatelets was determined by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to be 3.5 nm, corresponding to approximately 10 layers of graphene. Solubility in organic solvents was determined to be 20 mg/L in chloroform and 70 mg/L in 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.