Dispersion of alkylated graphene in organic solvents and its potential for lubrication applications

We report on the preparation of alkylated graphenes on a large scale followed by their dispersion in organic solvents. The alkylated graphenes with variable alkyl chain lengths (Cn = 8, 12, 18) are prepared by coupling of alkylamine with carboxylic groups of graphene oxide (GrO). The FTIR, UV-Visible, and TGA results reveal that, during alkylation, the oxygen functionalities of GrO are reduced significantly and the average size of the sp2 carbon domain increased, which is further supported by Raman characteristics. It is observed that the dispersibility of alkylated graphene in hydrocarbon solvents increases on increasing the chain length of (a) hydrocarbon solvents used for the dispersion and (b) alkyl groups attached to the graphene. The van der Waals interaction between methylene units associated with alkylated graphenes and hydrocarbon solvents plays a crucial role in determining their dispersion characteristics, and such an interaction increases with increasing methylene units. Octadecylamine functionalized graphene (ODA-Gr) dispersion in hexadecane is found to have long-term dispersion stability due to its high degree of cohesive interaction. The lubrication characteristics of hexadecane containing ODA-Gr were probed by evaluating its friction and wear properties. The results reveal that hexadecane doped with an optimized dose of 0.06 mg mL−1 ODA-Gr reduced friction and wear by 26% and 9%, respectively, compared to hexadecane. The lubricity enhancement could be attributed to uninterrupted supplies of graphene nanosheets under the rubbing surfaces, where these nanosheets prevent direct contact between the rubbing surfaces, providing low resistance to shear.