Solubility Study of Graphene-oxide with Various Solvents

Dispersion is one of the most important factors in the manufacture of composite materials. In the manufacture of composite materials, solvents are used to better disperse the reinforcement, nano-filler in the matrix. Since dispersion is affected with solvents, it is necessary to study which solvent is adopted to get good dispersion. In this study, the dispersion behavior and solubility of graphene oxide(GO) were examined under various solvents (DMF, NMP, ethylene glycol, Acetone, DI water) to identify dispersion. As a result of UV-Vis spectroscopy absorbance measurement, it was found that DMF and ethylene glycol had the best dispersibility, whereas DI water showed the lowest dispersibility. In addition, as a result of visually observing the dispersion according to the surface tension and time, it was found that the dispersibility was excellent in the order of DI water, ethylene glycol, NMP, DMF, and acetone, which was consistent with the Hansen solubility parameter value.