Researchers at Khalifa University of Science and Technology have demonstrated the fabrication of less layered graphene sheets with large lateral sizes (4-5 μm) through a state-of-the-art solar-powered liquid-phase exfoliation technique.
In this method, sunlight is applied directly to the embedded graphite flakes for only 0.5 s to achieve graphite expansion. By using focused sunlight, this solar expansion technique is sustainable with no energy requirement (0 J) – the total energy used to produce 1 kg of graphene through this technique is only about 2.135 MJ.
The prepared graphene sheets showed significant electrical conductivity (1586 S cm).−1) and high in-plane thermal conductivity (196.3 W mK).−1).
The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties of solar graphene were evaluated in the dB cm2 G−1.
Overall, this work provides a viable approach for the efficient, scalable production of graphene with reduced energy consumption and costs, thereby contributing to the sustainable production of graphene.