High-yield production of few-layer graphene flakes from graphite is important for the scalable synthesis and industrial application of graphene. However, high-yield exfoliation of graphite to form graphene sheets without using any oxidation process or super-strong acid is challenging. Here we demonstrate a solution route inspired by the lithium rechargeable battery for the high-yield (>70%) exfoliation of graphite into highly conductive few-layer graphene flakes (average thickness <5 layers). A negative graphite electrode can be electrochemically charged and expanded in an electrolyte of Li salts and organic solvents under high current density and exfoliated efficiently into few-layer graphene sheets with the aid of sonication. The dispersible graphene can be ink-brushed to form highly conformal coatings of conductive films (15 ohm/square at a graphene loading of <1 mg/cm(2)) on commercial paper.

We demonstrate that graphene can be used as an ultrahigh efficiency preconcentration and detection platform for ssDNA. DNA-adsorbed graphene can be used directly for Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). The rapid enrichment of biomolecules and direct, label-free detection are potentially useful for analysis in proteomics and genomics.

Highly sensitive, multicomponent broadband photodetector devices are made from PbSe/graphene/TiO(2). TiO(2) and PbSe nanoparticles act as light harvesting photoactive materials from the UV to IR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, while the graphene acts as a charge collector for both photogenerated holes and electrons under an applied electric field.

Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/ montmorillonite MMT nanocomposites have been prepared by using different methods: one is from the organophilic montmorillonite (OMT) and the other is from the pristine MMT and reactive compatibilizer hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (C16). In this study, different kneaders were used (twin-screw extruder and twin-roll mill) to prepare nanocomposites. The nanocomposite structures are evidenced by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution electronic microscope (HREM). The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moreover, the tensile tests were carried out with a Universal testing machine DCS-5000. It is shown that different methods and organophilic montmorillonite have influence on EVA/MMT nanocomposites.