Amine-based solvents for exfoliating graphite to graphene outperform the dispersing capacity of N-methyl-pyrrolidone and surfactants

Four organic amine-based solvents were discovered which enable direct exfoliation of graphite to produce high-quality and oxygen-free graphene nanosheets. These solvents outperform previously used solvents and additives such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone and surfactants in terms of their dispersing capacity. The resulting dispersions allow the facile fabrication of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)–graphene nanocomposites with remarkable CO₂ storage capability.