Graphene has generated huge interest in recent years due to its unique physics properties [1]. We have shown that high-quality monolayer graphene can be produced at significant yields by non-chemical, solution-phase exfoliation of graphite in certain organic solvents. Until a few years ago the standard procedure used to make graphene was micromechanical cleavage [2], which is a very low yield production method. In order to fully exploit graphene’s outstanding properties, a mass production method was necessary and the development of a method to exfoliate cheap, commercial graphite in organic solvents down to large area single graphene flakes with high yield was one major achievement [3]. Recently this work has been extended to a wide range of two-dimensional inorganic nanomaterials [3,4]. These are potentially important because they occur in >100 different types with a wide range of electronic properties, varying from metallic to semiconducting. The liquid-phase exfoliation method has now been up-scaled to produce grams of a variety of exfoliated materials per day [5].

This talk will first discuss the galaxy of existent layered materials, with emphasis on synthesis and liquid-phase exfoliation to finish off with some key applications recently developed in our laboratories.  

1. A. K. Geim, Science 324, 1530 (Jun, 2009).

1. S. Stankovich et al., Nature 442, 282 (Jul, 2006).

2. Y. Hernandez et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 3, 9 (2008) 563

3. J. N. Coleman et al., Science, 331, pp. 568-571 (2011)

4. V. Nicolosi et al., Science, 340, 6139, 1420 (2013)
   
5. K. R. Paton et al., Nature Materials, 13, 6, 624-30 (2014)