Researchers develop a new method for water-based, layer-selective exfoliation of few-layer graphene

Researchers at Korea-based Edmayim Corp., a materials R&D company specializing in scalable advanced carbon technologies, have reported a practical and scalable graphene exfoliation method based on interlayer expansion followed by controlled centrifugation, enabling reproducible fractionation of few-layer graphene. The process uses a water-based, environmentally benign exfoliation pathway without chemical oxidants.

Centrifugation-based fractionation illustrating layer-dependent sedimentation behavior of exfoliated graphene under different rotational speeds from 3,000 to 10,000 rpm.

The method integrates interlayer expansion–assisted exfoliation, which weakens interlayer coupling through a water-based physical process, with controlled centrifugation-based fractionation that exploits layer-dependent mass and hydrodynamic behavior. By tuning centrifugation parameters, distinct, reproducible sedimentation windows appear, each corresponding to graphene fractions dominated by different layer numbers and governed by intrinsic structural differences rather than random aggregation or stochastic fragmentation.

Centrifugation-based fractionation illustrating layer-dependent sedimentation behavior of exfoliated graphene under different rotational speeds from 3,000 to 10,000 rpm.The method integrates interlayer expansion–assisted exfoliation, which weakens interlayer coupling through a water-based physical process, with controlled centrifugation-based fractionation that exploits layer-dependent mass and hydrodynamic behavior. By tuning centrifugation parameters, distinct, reproducible sedimentation windows appear, each corresponding to graphene fractions dominated by different layer numbers and governed by intrinsic structural differences rather than random aggregation or stochastic fragmentation.

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