Electrochemical exfoliation of a graphite electrode in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride-[EMIM]Cl-AlCl ionic liquid and its electrocatalytic application

• Published in: Materials advances Vol. 2; no. 6; pp. 1993 - 1999
• Main Authors: Saravanan, Gengan, Sanjay, Sankaranarayanan, Gnanamuthu, R. M, Sankararao, Mutyala
• Format: Journal Article
• Published: 29.03.2021
• ISSN: 2633-5409
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ma00924e

The electrochemical exfoliation of graphite using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride-[EMIM]Cl-AlCl 3 ionic liquid (IL) has been anticipated to be an environmentally benign and economically viable graphene production technique based on the intercalation of AlCl 4 − ions into a graphite anode in an IL mixture. An equimolar mixture of the two solids AlCl 3 − and EMIMCl − becomes a liquid at room temperature via the acid-base reaction to form AlCl 4 − and EMIM + ions. This liquid is not only an electrolyte, but also a source of electroactive species for intercalation into graphite. The crystallographic properties of graphite and physicochemical properties of the IL enable better intercalation of AlCl 4 − (2.95 Å) into the graphite layer (lattice distance 3.3 Å). The results clearly demonstrate that graphene is produced within the graphite anode in AlCl 3 -EMIM + Cl − . The IL is significantly important in terms of its cost efficiency, wide electrochemical window, and high exfoliation performance for the production of graphene. The as-prepared few-layer graphene was drop-casted on a pre-polished glassy carbon electrode (GCE), followed by the electrodeposition of Pt dendritic nanoparticles, for application in the electrooxidation of glucose. An eco-friendly and economically viable electrochemical exfoliation method has the potential to produce few-layer graphene as a support for a dendritic Pt nanoparticle modified electrode for better non-enzymatic electrooxidation of glucose.