Quantification of the particle size and stability of graphene oxide in a variety of solvents

The exceptional solution processing potential of graphene oxide (GO) is always one of its main advantages over graphene in terms of its industrial relevance in coatings, electronics, and energy storage. However, the presence of a variety of functional groups on the basal plane and edges of GO makes understanding suspension behavior in aqueous and organic solvents, a major challenge. Acoustic spectroscopy can also measure zeta potential to provide unique insight into flocculating, meta-stable, and stable suspensions of GO in deionized water and a variety of organic solvents (including ethanol, ethylene glycol, and mineral oil). As expected, a match between solvent polarity and the polar functional groups on the GO surface favors stable colloidal suspensions accompanied by a smaller aggregate size tending toward disperse individual flakes of GO. This work is significant since it describes the characteristics of GO in solution and its ability to act as a precursor for graphene-based materials. Meta-stable and stable suspensions of graphene oxide in solution with a variety of solvents and their ability to act as precursors of graphene-based materials are shown. Particle size distributions from scanning electron microscopy, tunneling electron microscopy, and acoustic spectroscopy techniques are shown to be in agreement, providing robust insight about these systems and its practical applications in electrodes, sensors, and energy storage.