Quantitative correlation between interlayer distance and shear rate in liquid-based exfoliation of graphene layers

摘要

Graphene exfoliation by shear flow is a continuous process for its mass production. Unlike its simple concept of shear-induced exfoliation, the underlying physics of graphene layers in fluid flow is complex owing to its multiscale nature from atomistic-level interactions to fluid dynamics. Also, several intercalants are considered to decrease van der Waals force between graphene layers. In this paper, shear-induced exfoliation with interactions between graphene layers is simulated by using an immersed boundary method based on a spring network model with an interlayer potential. First, the suggested model is tested in an indentation case of graphene layer. Then, shear-induced exfoliation of graphene is simulated to compare the predicted forces with previous theoretical and experimental results. In addition, at different shear rates, the effect of interlayer distance, changed by intercalants, is fully discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.