Surface Decoration and Dispersibility of Modified Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) in Aqueous Surfactant Solution

Abstract

The dispersion of modified GNPs plays a crucial role in their performance within composite materials. In the study, two kinds of surfactants, including odium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether (CO890), are employed to research the dispersion of modified GNPs in aqueous solution. In addition, ultrasonic treatment is used to prepare a uniform suspension of modified GNPs, and the dispersion quality is evaluated through ultraviolet absorbance, zeta potential, surface tension, and TEM imaging. The experimental results indicate that the zeta potential and surface tension stabilize at CO890 and SDS concentrations of approximately 0.5 and 0.7g/L, respectively. This suggests that the ideal CO890 to modified GNPs ratio is 5 : 2, while the optimal SDS to modified GNPs ratio is 7 : 2, which results in the highest dispersion efficiency for the modified GNPs. The TEM images illustrate that the modified GNPs can be effectively dispersed in aqueous surfactant solution combined with ultrasonic treatment.