Tunable d-spacing of dry reduced graphene oxide nanosheets for enhancing re-dispersibility in organic solvents

The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets were modified by using polymeric nanospheres to adjust the d-spacings between dry rGO nanosheets. The experimental and computational studies show that the incorporation of polymeric nanospheres can effectively increase the d-spacing between dry rGO nanosheets, and meanwhile provide good compatibility of rGO with organic solvents. Specifically, when the d-spacing between nanosheets is greater than 14.0 nm, the dried rGO nanosheets can be well redispersed and stabilized in various organic solvents. This study thus provides a new technology that can produce dry rGO nanosheets with good re-dispersibility and stability in various organic solvents on a large-scale in a more environmental friendly manner.