Anhydrous organic dispersions of highly reduced chemically converted graphene

A straightforward, systematic approach to the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) that affords dispersions of chemically converted graphene (CCG) in anhydrous organic solvents with decreasing basal plane defects is reported. The extent of reduction can be controlled and optimized, resulting in highly reduced dispersible chemically converted graphene (hrCCG) having an O1S/C1S ratio of 0.06, which approaches that of graphite. The hrCCG dispersion in anhydrous dimethylformamide (DMF) was stable for several months at a concentration of 0.5–0.6 mg mL−1. This process was found to be easily scalable and could be exploited for the large scale production of hrCCG in DMF and its dispersion in other anhydrous organic solvents. This study demonstrates that the stability of the graphene dispersion is critically dependent on the exfoliation process. The improved elimination of basal defects and the restoration of aromaticity, while maintaining dispersion stability on a large scale in an anhydrous organic solvent, greatly increase the potential of this material for a wide variety of applications.