Carbon Nanostructures Produced by Liquid Phase Exfoliation of Graphite in the Presence of Small Organic Molecules

Abstract We report on the formation of different carbon nanostructures by ultrasonication of graphite in DMF upon the addition of 3 different small molecules: ferrocene carboxylic acid, dimethylamino methyl-ferrocene, and benzyl aldehyde. Our results confirm that acoustic cavitation in organic solvents generates free radicals which enable or are involved in secondary reactions. During the ultrasonication process, the addition of small molecules induces the formation of different carbon nanostructures mainly depending on the chemical nature of the molecule, as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman spectroscopy analysis confirms that small molecules act as radical scavengers reducing the damage caused by cavitation to graphene sheets producing long nanoribbons, squared sheets, or carbon nanoscrolls. Importantly, this strategy allows the production of different carbon nanostructures in liquid-phase making them readily available for their chemical functionalization or for their incorporation into hybrids materials enabling the development of new advanced biological applications.