Patent
US 9,315,388PRODUCTION OF GRAPHENE MATERIALS IN A CAVITATING FLUID
David Joseph Burton
US
Copyright © 2026 Matter42. All rights reserved.
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 9,315,388Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 A flow chart showing the most commonly used prior art process of producing highly 10 oxidized NGPs that entails tedious chemical oxidation/intercalation, …
FIG.2 (A) Flowchart for the presently invented one-step hydrodynamic cavitation process and (B) flowchart for the conventional, multi-step process of producing …
FIG.3 (A) Schematic of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor and (B) schematic of the rotator portion of the reactor.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application: (In the amended claims, the words with strikethrough are to be deleted and the words underlined are to be inserted)
The method of claim 135, wherein said graphene material is pristine graphene.
The method of claim 135, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor includes a housing defining a cylindrical chamber, a cylindrical rotor rotatably mounted in the chamber, bores in a peripheral surface of the rotor, and a cavitation zone defined between the peripheral surface of the rotor and an interior wall of the chamber, and the step of introducing said graphite suspension comprises passing the graphite suspension through the cavitation zone as the rotor rotates.
The method of claim 1, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor operates by passing a liquid through a constricted channel at a specific velocity to produce cavitation or micro-bubbles.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains water, an alcohol, or a water-alcohol mixture.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a surfactant.
The method of claim 7, wherein said surfactant is selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, silicone surfactants, fluoro-surfactants, polymeric surfactants, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium lignosu l phonate, po l y (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, sodium sulfonate, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent selected from N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), NN-Dimethylacetamide (DMA), y- butyrolactone (GBL), 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMEU), or a combination thereof
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent having a surface free energy that enables wetting of said liquid medium on a graphene plane of said starting graphitic material.
The method of claim 1 wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated at a temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1 wherein said starting graphitic material comprises natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nanofiber, exfoliated graphite, expanded graphite, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an ionic liquid which is an ionic salt having a melting temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an acid.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a weak acid selected from formic acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, maleic acid, or carboxylic acid. 4
canceled
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to fo rmi a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent-or-a-chemical functionalization agent and a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, to chemically-functionalize said graphene material, -and to dissolve or and to disperse said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to produce a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 24, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium is a mixture containing an acid and an oxidizing agent.
The method of claim 1 wherein said liquid medium contains a carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of aromatic carboxylic acid, aliphatic or cycloaliphatic carboxylic acid, straight chain or branched chain carboxylic acid, saturated and unsaturated monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids and polycarboxylic acids that have 1-10 carbon toms, alkyl esters thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 27 wherein said carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of saturated aliphatic carboxylic acids of the formula H(CH 2) n C OOH, wherein n is a number of from 0 to 5, including formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, pentanoic, and hexanoic cids, anhydrides thereof, reactive carboxylic acid derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material is an intercalated, oxidized, halogenated, nitrogenated, hydrogenated, or exfoliated form of a graphitic material selected from natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nano-fiber, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 29, further comprising a step of converting said graphene material and a polymer dispersed in said liquid medium into a powder, paper, or mat form.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a: hemical functionalization agent and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material and to chemically functionalize said graphene material to produce a chemically functionalized graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and sa i d hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, 6 disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to form a precursor composite suspension.
(Previously amended) A method of producing a graphene material directly from a starting graphitic material, said method comprising: (a) dispersing said starting graphitic material in a liquid medium to for m a graphite suspension; and (b) introducing said graphite suspension into a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor that exfoliates and separates graphene planes from said starting graphitic material to produce said graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium, wherein said graphite suspension further contains a monomer which is polymerized in said hydrodynamic reactor.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material contains exfoliated graphite or expanded graphite, said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent, and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated to produce and oxidize said graphene material to produce a graphene oxide material dispersed in said liquid medium.
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
hydrodynamic cavitation reactor
No layer stack recorded.
Materials described outside the worked examples.
pristine graphene
liquid medium (water, alcohol, or water-alcohol mixture)
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 300–3600 s | — |
Thickness |
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
METHOD OF PREPARING LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE USING ELECTROSPRAY PROCESS AND LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE PREPARED THEREFROM
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN PRODUCTION OF GRAPHENE SUSPENSIONS
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 9,315,388Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 A flow chart showing the most commonly used prior art process of producing highly 10 oxidized NGPs that entails tedious chemical oxidation/intercalation, …
FIG.2 (A) Flowchart for the presently invented one-step hydrodynamic cavitation process and (B) flowchart for the conventional, multi-step process of producing …
FIG.3 (A) Schematic of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor and (B) schematic of the rotator portion of the reactor.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application: (In the amended claims, the words with strikethrough are to be deleted and the words underlined are to be inserted)
The method of claim 135, wherein said graphene material is pristine graphene.
The method of claim 135, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor includes a housing defining a cylindrical chamber, a cylindrical rotor rotatably mounted in the chamber, bores in a peripheral surface of the rotor, and a cavitation zone defined between the peripheral surface of the rotor and an interior wall of the chamber, and the step of introducing said graphite suspension comprises passing the graphite suspension through the cavitation zone as the rotor rotates.
The method of claim 1, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor operates by passing a liquid through a constricted channel at a specific velocity to produce cavitation or micro-bubbles.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains water, an alcohol, or a water-alcohol mixture.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a surfactant.
The method of claim 7, wherein said surfactant is selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, silicone surfactants, fluoro-surfactants, polymeric surfactants, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium lignosu l phonate, po l y (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, sodium sulfonate, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent selected from N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), NN-Dimethylacetamide (DMA), y- butyrolactone (GBL), 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMEU), or a combination thereof
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent having a surface free energy that enables wetting of said liquid medium on a graphene plane of said starting graphitic material.
The method of claim 1 wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated at a temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1 wherein said starting graphitic material comprises natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nanofiber, exfoliated graphite, expanded graphite, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an ionic liquid which is an ionic salt having a melting temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an acid.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a weak acid selected from formic acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, maleic acid, or carboxylic acid. 4
canceled
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to fo rmi a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent-or-a-chemical functionalization agent and a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, to chemically-functionalize said graphene material, -and to dissolve or and to disperse said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to produce a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 24, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium is a mixture containing an acid and an oxidizing agent.
The method of claim 1 wherein said liquid medium contains a carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of aromatic carboxylic acid, aliphatic or cycloaliphatic carboxylic acid, straight chain or branched chain carboxylic acid, saturated and unsaturated monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids and polycarboxylic acids that have 1-10 carbon toms, alkyl esters thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 27 wherein said carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of saturated aliphatic carboxylic acids of the formula H(CH 2) n C OOH, wherein n is a number of from 0 to 5, including formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, pentanoic, and hexanoic cids, anhydrides thereof, reactive carboxylic acid derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material is an intercalated, oxidized, halogenated, nitrogenated, hydrogenated, or exfoliated form of a graphitic material selected from natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nano-fiber, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 29, further comprising a step of converting said graphene material and a polymer dispersed in said liquid medium into a powder, paper, or mat form.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a: hemical functionalization agent and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material and to chemically functionalize said graphene material to produce a chemically functionalized graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and sa i d hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, 6 disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to form a precursor composite suspension.
(Previously amended) A method of producing a graphene material directly from a starting graphitic material, said method comprising: (a) dispersing said starting graphitic material in a liquid medium to for m a graphite suspension; and (b) introducing said graphite suspension into a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor that exfoliates and separates graphene planes from said starting graphitic material to produce said graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium, wherein said graphite suspension further contains a monomer which is polymerized in said hydrodynamic reactor.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material contains exfoliated graphite or expanded graphite, said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent, and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated to produce and oxidize said graphene material to produce a graphene oxide material dispersed in said liquid medium.
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
hydrodynamic cavitation reactor
No layer stack recorded.
Materials described outside the worked examples.
pristine graphene
liquid medium (water, alcohol, or water-alcohol mixture)
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 300–3600 s | — |
Thickness |
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
METHOD OF PREPARING LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE USING ELECTROSPRAY PROCESS AND LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE PREPARED THEREFROM
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN PRODUCTION OF GRAPHENE SUSPENSIONS
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 9,315,388Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 A flow chart showing the most commonly used prior art process of producing highly 10 oxidized NGPs that entails tedious chemical oxidation/intercalation, …
FIG.2 (A) Flowchart for the presently invented one-step hydrodynamic cavitation process and (B) flowchart for the conventional, multi-step process of producing …
FIG.3 (A) Schematic of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor and (B) schematic of the rotator portion of the reactor.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application: (In the amended claims, the words with strikethrough are to be deleted and the words underlined are to be inserted)
The method of claim 135, wherein said graphene material is pristine graphene.
The method of claim 135, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor includes a housing defining a cylindrical chamber, a cylindrical rotor rotatably mounted in the chamber, bores in a peripheral surface of the rotor, and a cavitation zone defined between the peripheral surface of the rotor and an interior wall of the chamber, and the step of introducing said graphite suspension comprises passing the graphite suspension through the cavitation zone as the rotor rotates.
The method of claim 1, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor operates by passing a liquid through a constricted channel at a specific velocity to produce cavitation or micro-bubbles.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains water, an alcohol, or a water-alcohol mixture.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a surfactant.
The method of claim 7, wherein said surfactant is selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, silicone surfactants, fluoro-surfactants, polymeric surfactants, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium lignosu l phonate, po l y (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, sodium sulfonate, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent selected from N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), NN-Dimethylacetamide (DMA), y- butyrolactone (GBL), 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMEU), or a combination thereof
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent having a surface free energy that enables wetting of said liquid medium on a graphene plane of said starting graphitic material.
The method of claim 1 wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated at a temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1 wherein said starting graphitic material comprises natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nanofiber, exfoliated graphite, expanded graphite, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an ionic liquid which is an ionic salt having a melting temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an acid.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a weak acid selected from formic acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, maleic acid, or carboxylic acid. 4
canceled
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to fo rmi a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent-or-a-chemical functionalization agent and a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, to chemically-functionalize said graphene material, -and to dissolve or and to disperse said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to produce a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 24, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium is a mixture containing an acid and an oxidizing agent.
The method of claim 1 wherein said liquid medium contains a carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of aromatic carboxylic acid, aliphatic or cycloaliphatic carboxylic acid, straight chain or branched chain carboxylic acid, saturated and unsaturated monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids and polycarboxylic acids that have 1-10 carbon toms, alkyl esters thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 27 wherein said carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of saturated aliphatic carboxylic acids of the formula H(CH 2) n C OOH, wherein n is a number of from 0 to 5, including formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, pentanoic, and hexanoic cids, anhydrides thereof, reactive carboxylic acid derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material is an intercalated, oxidized, halogenated, nitrogenated, hydrogenated, or exfoliated form of a graphitic material selected from natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nano-fiber, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 29, further comprising a step of converting said graphene material and a polymer dispersed in said liquid medium into a powder, paper, or mat form.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a: hemical functionalization agent and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material and to chemically functionalize said graphene material to produce a chemically functionalized graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and sa i d hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, 6 disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to form a precursor composite suspension.
(Previously amended) A method of producing a graphene material directly from a starting graphitic material, said method comprising: (a) dispersing said starting graphitic material in a liquid medium to for m a graphite suspension; and (b) introducing said graphite suspension into a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor that exfoliates and separates graphene planes from said starting graphitic material to produce said graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium, wherein said graphite suspension further contains a monomer which is polymerized in said hydrodynamic reactor.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material contains exfoliated graphite or expanded graphite, said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent, and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated to produce and oxidize said graphene material to produce a graphene oxide material dispersed in said liquid medium.
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
hydrodynamic cavitation reactor
No layer stack recorded.
Materials described outside the worked examples.
pristine graphene
liquid medium (water, alcohol, or water-alcohol mixture)
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 300–3600 s | — |
Thickness |
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
METHOD OF PREPARING LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE USING ELECTROSPRAY PROCESS AND LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE PREPARED THEREFROM
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN PRODUCTION OF GRAPHENE SUSPENSIONS
Patent
Atlas literature
Patent
US 9,315,388Patent drawings and their descriptions. Click a drawing to enlarge it.
FIG. 1 A flow chart showing the most commonly used prior art process of producing highly 10 oxidized NGPs that entails tedious chemical oxidation/intercalation, …
FIG.2 (A) Flowchart for the presently invented one-step hydrodynamic cavitation process and (B) flowchart for the conventional, multi-step process of producing …
FIG.3 (A) Schematic of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor and (B) schematic of the rotator portion of the reactor.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Claims define the patent's legal scope. Independent claims stand alone; dependent claims (nested) narrow them. Click a claim to expand its dependents.
This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application: (In the amended claims, the words with strikethrough are to be deleted and the words underlined are to be inserted)
The method of claim 135, wherein said graphene material is pristine graphene.
The method of claim 135, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor includes a housing defining a cylindrical chamber, a cylindrical rotor rotatably mounted in the chamber, bores in a peripheral surface of the rotor, and a cavitation zone defined between the peripheral surface of the rotor and an interior wall of the chamber, and the step of introducing said graphite suspension comprises passing the graphite suspension through the cavitation zone as the rotor rotates.
The method of claim 1, wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor operates by passing a liquid through a constricted channel at a specific velocity to produce cavitation or micro-bubbles.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains water, an alcohol, or a water-alcohol mixture.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a surfactant.
The method of claim 7, wherein said surfactant is selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, silicone surfactants, fluoro-surfactants, polymeric surfactants, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium lignosu l phonate, po l y (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium phosphate, sodium sulfonate, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent selected from N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), NN-Dimethylacetamide (DMA), y- butyrolactone (GBL), 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMEU), or a combination thereof
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an organic solvent having a surface free energy that enables wetting of said liquid medium on a graphene plane of said starting graphitic material.
The method of claim 1 wherein said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated at a temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1 wherein said starting graphitic material comprises natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nanofiber, exfoliated graphite, expanded graphite, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an ionic liquid which is an ionic salt having a melting temperature lower than 100 *C.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains an acid.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium contains a weak acid selected from formic acid, acetic acid, nitric acid, maleic acid, or carboxylic acid. 4
canceled
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to fo rmi a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent-or-a-chemical functionalization agent and a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, to chemically-functionalize said graphene material, -and to dissolve or and to disperse said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to produce a precursor composite suspension.
The method of claim 24, further comprising a step of converting said precursor composite suspension into a graphene-polymer nanocomposite.
The method of claim 1, wherein said liquid medium is a mixture containing an acid and an oxidizing agent.
The method of claim 1 wherein said liquid medium contains a carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of aromatic carboxylic acid, aliphatic or cycloaliphatic carboxylic acid, straight chain or branched chain carboxylic acid, saturated and unsaturated monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids and polycarboxylic acids that have 1-10 carbon toms, alkyl esters thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 27 wherein said carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of saturated aliphatic carboxylic acids of the formula H(CH 2) n C OOH, wherein n is a number of from 0 to 5, including formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, pentanoic, and hexanoic cids, anhydrides thereof, reactive carboxylic acid derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material is an intercalated, oxidized, halogenated, nitrogenated, hydrogenated, or exfoliated form of a graphitic material selected from natural graphite, synthetic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, meso-carbon micro-bead, coke, graphitized meso-phase carbon, graphitized soft carbon, carbon or graphite fiber, carbon or graphitic nano-fiber, or a combination thereof.
The method of claim 29, further comprising a step of converting said graphene material and a polymer dispersed in said liquid medium into a powder, paper, or mat form.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a: hemical functionalization agent and said cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material and to chemically functionalize said graphene material to produce a chemically functionalized graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium.
The method of claim 29, wherein said liquid medium further contains therein a monomer, oligomer, or polymer and sa i d hydrodynamic cavitation reactor generates and collapses cavitation or bubbles in said liquid medium to produce said graphene material, 6 disperse said graphene material in said liquid medium, and disperse or dissolve said monomer, oligomer, or polymer in said liquid medium to form a precursor composite suspension.
(Previously amended) A method of producing a graphene material directly from a starting graphitic material, said method comprising: (a) dispersing said starting graphitic material in a liquid medium to for m a graphite suspension; and (b) introducing said graphite suspension into a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor that exfoliates and separates graphene planes from said starting graphitic material to produce said graphene material dispersed in said liquid medium, wherein said graphite suspension further contains a monomer which is polymerized in said hydrodynamic reactor.
The method of claim 135, wherein said starting graphitic material contains exfoliated graphite or expanded graphite, said liquid medium further contains therein an oxidizing agent, and said hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is operated to produce and oxidize said graphene material to produce a graphene oxide material dispersed in said liquid medium.
Layer stacks claimed or described, ordered top of device to substrate.
hydrodynamic cavitation reactor
No layer stack recorded.
Materials described outside the worked examples.
pristine graphene
liquid medium (water, alcohol, or water-alcohol mixture)
Additional fabrication and treatment steps described in the patent.
Measurements and analyses referenced in the patent, with their drawing references.
FIG.4 Transmission electron micrographs of (A) NGPs produced by the hydrodyna mic cavitation process (wider and longer graphene sheets) and (B) NGPs produced …
Performance values and ranges asserted in the specification or claims.
| Property | Value | Material |
|---|---|---|
Duration | 300–3600 s | — |
Thickness |
Related documents with shared materials, methods, properties, or citations.
METHOD OF PREPARING LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE USING ELECTROSPRAY PROCESS AND LARGE-AREA, THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHENE TRANSPARENT ELECTRODE PREPARED THEREFROM
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN PRODUCTION OF GRAPHENE SUSPENSIONS
surfactant
organic solvent
starting graphitic material
ionic liquid
monomer, oligomer, or polymer
graphene-polymer nanocomposite
chemical functionalization agent
chemically functionalized graphene material
graphene oxide
graphene material (nano graphene platelets, NGPs)
| — |
Thickness | 10–80 nm | — |
Duration | 5–120 hours | — |
Duration | 30–60 seconds | — |
Thickness | 1550–1600 cm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 3 nm | — |
Duration | ≤ 15 minutes | — |
Duration | ≤ 5 minutes | — |
Duration | 5–10 minutes | — |
surfactant
organic solvent
starting graphitic material
ionic liquid
monomer, oligomer, or polymer
graphene-polymer nanocomposite
chemical functionalization agent
chemically functionalized graphene material
graphene oxide
graphene material (nano graphene platelets, NGPs)
| — |
Thickness | 10–80 nm | — |
Duration | 5–120 hours | — |
Duration | 30–60 seconds | — |
Thickness | 1550–1600 cm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 3 nm | — |
Duration | ≤ 15 minutes | — |
Duration | ≤ 5 minutes | — |
Duration | 5–10 minutes | — |
surfactant
organic solvent
starting graphitic material
ionic liquid
monomer, oligomer, or polymer
graphene-polymer nanocomposite
chemical functionalization agent
chemically functionalized graphene material
graphene oxide
graphene material (nano graphene platelets, NGPs)
| — |
Thickness | 10–80 nm | — |
Duration | 5–120 hours | — |
Duration | 30–60 seconds | — |
Thickness | 1550–1600 cm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 3 nm | — |
Duration | ≤ 15 minutes | — |
Duration | ≤ 5 minutes | — |
Duration | 5–10 minutes | — |
surfactant
organic solvent
starting graphitic material
ionic liquid
monomer, oligomer, or polymer
graphene-polymer nanocomposite
chemical functionalization agent
chemically functionalized graphene material
graphene oxide
graphene material (nano graphene platelets, NGPs)
| — |
Thickness | 10–80 nm | — |
Duration | 5–120 hours | — |
Duration | 30–60 seconds | — |
Thickness | 1550–1600 cm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 10 nm | — |
Thickness | ≤ 3 nm | — |
Duration | ≤ 15 minutes | — |
Duration | ≤ 5 minutes | — |
Duration | 5–10 minutes | — |