A primitive cubic lattice composed of 1,000 atoms has
488 surface
sites. By definition, every atom in a strictly two-dimensional single-layer
lattice composes its surface. These surface atoms are the ones that
undergo chemical interactions with the surrounding medium, thereby
defining the functionalities of the nanostructure. As such, one of
the most important morphological properties of nano-objects is the
extremely large specific surface area that enhances their levels of
reactivity. Here, we introduce an optical spectroscopy method to measure
the surface area concentration, ρA, of mass-produced
graphene nanoflakes in liquid dispersions. The information is accessed
from the quenching of the fluorescence signal from the dye molecules
dispersed in the medium. We found that the quantum efficiency of the
fluorescence signal decays exponentially with the concentration of
graphene’s surface area, the decay rate being independent of
the degree of exfoliation. If the mass concentration ρ is known
by other means, the specific surface area can be extracted from the
ratio ρA/ρ. The measurements can be performed
directly in liquid suspensions of nanoflakes, being highly applicable
to the quality control of mass-produced two-dimensional nanomaterials,
especially by means of mechanically assisted liquid-phase exfoliation.