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Characterization of commercial graphene powders

Lundkvist, Felix LU (2017) KOO920 20171
Centre for Analysis and Synthesis
Abstract
Morphology, structure and chemistry have been investigated for 17 different commercial graphenegrades,all labeled as different kinds of graphene powder. For objectivity reasons, all powders have been given names as Graphene A-Q instead of their real product names. Out of the 17 tested powders, only Graphene A and B showed consistent results of being graphene-like. All powders have been characterized by SEM. The SEM results showed large difference between the powders, some seemingly containing exfoliated graphite, and some containing nanosized carbon particles resembling carbon black. From these results the different grades were divided into 4 classes. Class 1 (Graphene A, B and C)and 2 (Graphene D,E, K, L, M and N) which held the overall... (More)
Morphology, structure and chemistry have been investigated for 17 different commercial graphenegrades,all labeled as different kinds of graphene powder. For objectivity reasons, all powders have been given names as Graphene A-Q instead of their real product names. Out of the 17 tested powders, only Graphene A and B showed consistent results of being graphene-like. All powders have been characterized by SEM. The SEM results showed large difference between the powders, some seemingly containing exfoliated graphite, and some containing nanosized carbon particles resembling carbon black. From these results the different grades were divided into 4 classes. Class 1 (Graphene A, B and C)and 2 (Graphene D,E, K, L, M and N) which held the overall best apparent quality were selected for further investigation. These powders were characterized using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. XPS
results showed that all examined powders contained between 94-98.8 at% carbon, where the rest is mostly oxygen. All powders contained some amount of sulfur, probably left from the synthesis. XRD results showed that only Graphene A, B, C and partly D contained a graphene-like phase, the others contained a purely graphitic phase in powder form. Raman spectroscopy showed a wide range of defect density in the investigated powders, where Graphene D and E contained the least amount of disorder.
Graphene A and B showed slightly more, but still showed good results. No powder gave a signal of being single-sheet graphene in the Raman spectroscopy. Graphene B was also investigated in TEM, where the presence of single- to few layer graphene could be confirmed. (Less)
Popular Abstract
Out of 17 commercially available graphene powders only 2 or 3 seemed to contain actual graphene, according to characterization carried out in this project. These results reveal a market where customer cannot trust manufacturer, and where there is a great need for standardization and common nomenclature.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lundkvist, Felix LU
supervisor
organization
course
KOO920 20171
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Graphene, Graphene Oxide, Graphene Quality, Graphene Powder, Graphene Barrier, Graphene Characterization, SEM, Scanning Electron Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscopy, TEM, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, XRD
language
English
id
8907451
date added to LUP
2017-06-21 16:19:38
date last changed
2017-06-21 16:19:38
@misc{8907451,
  abstract     = {{Morphology, structure and chemistry have been investigated for 17 different commercial graphenegrades,all labeled as different kinds of graphene powder. For objectivity reasons, all powders have been given names as Graphene A-Q instead of their real product names. Out of the 17 tested powders, only Graphene A and B showed consistent results of being graphene-like. All powders have been characterized by SEM. The SEM results showed large difference between the powders, some seemingly containing exfoliated graphite, and some containing nanosized carbon particles resembling carbon black. From these results the different grades were divided into 4 classes. Class 1 (Graphene A, B and C)and 2 (Graphene D,E, K, L, M and N) which held the overall best apparent quality were selected for further investigation. These powders were characterized using XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. XPS
results showed that all examined powders contained between 94-98.8 at% carbon, where the rest is mostly oxygen. All powders contained some amount of sulfur, probably left from the synthesis. XRD results showed that only Graphene A, B, C and partly D contained a graphene-like phase, the others contained a purely graphitic phase in powder form. Raman spectroscopy showed a wide range of defect density in the investigated powders, where Graphene D and E contained the least amount of disorder.
Graphene A and B showed slightly more, but still showed good results. No powder gave a signal of being single-sheet graphene in the Raman spectroscopy. Graphene B was also investigated in TEM, where the presence of single- to few layer graphene could be confirmed.}},
  author       = {{Lundkvist, Felix}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Characterization of commercial graphene powders}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}