Reversible Cluster Aggregation and Growth Model for Graphene Suspensions |
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| Authors: | Michail Alifierakis Kevin S. Sallah Ilhan A. Aksay Jean H. Prévost |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ;2. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ |
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| Abstract: | We present a reversible cluster aggregation model for 2‐D macromolecules represented by line segments in 2‐D; and, we use it to describe the aggregation process of functionalized graphene particles in an aqueous SDS surfactant solution. The model produces clusters with similar sizes and structures as a function of SDS concentration in agreement with experiments and predicts the existence of a critical surfactant concentration (Ccrit) beyond which thermodynamically stable graphene suspensions form. Around Ccrit, particles form dense clusters rapidly and sediment. At C ? Ccrit, a contiguous ramified network of graphene gel forms which also densifies, but at a slower rate, and sediments with time. The deaggregation–reaggregation mechanism of our model captures the restructuring of the large aggregates towards a graphite‐like structure for the low SDS concentrations. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 5462–5473, 2017 |
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| Keywords: | graphene aggregation dispersion Diffusion Limited Aggregation (DLA) Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) water |
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