Contribution of Different Exfoliation Mechanisms in the Bipolar Electrochemical Fabrication of Graphene

摘要

Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted increasing interest due to their extraordinary properties such as high thermal conductivity, high specific surface area, and broad electrochemical window. In general, different techniques have been employed to fabricate these materials, including chemical vapor deposition, mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical exfoliation. Bipolar electrochemistry (BPE) is one of the newest methods which has been used for the fabrication of 2D materials. In our previous study, a modified BPE concept was developed for simultaneous exfoliating and deposition of both reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene oxide (GO) layers on conductive objects. Although the characteristics of the produced materials have been studied and reported, there are still remaining questions that need more investigations to be answered. The main focus of this study is investigating the active exfoliation mechanisms in the BPE process and finding out the dominant exfoliation reactions (either cathodic or anodic exfoliation).