| 摘要 |
Disclosed is a process for exfoliating a layered material to produce nano-scaled platelets having a thickness smaller than 100 nm, typically smaller than 10 nm, and often between 0.34 nm and 1.02 nm. The process comprises: (a) charging a layered material to an intercalation chamber comprising a gaseous environment at a first temperature and a first pressure sufficient to cause gas species to penetrate into the interstitial space between layers of the layered material, forming a gas-intercalated layered material; and (b) operating a discharge valve to rapidly eject the gas-intercalated layered material through a nozzle into an exfoliation zone at a second pressure and a second temperature, allowing gas species residing in the interstitial space to exfoliate the layered material to produce the platelets. The gaseous environment preferably contains only environmentally benign gases that are reactive (e.g., oxygen) or non-reactive (e.g., noble gases) with the layered material. The process can additionally include dispersing the platelets in a matrix material to form a nanocomposite. The process also can include an additional process of re-compressing the nana-scaled platelets into a product such as a flexible graphite sheet.
|
