Nanoscale ionic graphene material with liquid-like behavior in the absence of solvent

A nanoscale ionic graphene hybrid material with liquid-like behavior was obtained by using tertiary amine as corona and sulfonate anions as canopy. The microstructures and the rheological property of the solvent-free graphene nanofluid (G-PEGs) had been extensively characterized by various analytical techniques. The content of graphene was up to 12.05 wt%. The thickness of G-PEGs ranged from 2 nm to 5 nm. The conductivity of G-PEGs exhibited that the percolation threshold was about 0.99 vol%. In addition, the G-PEGs had relative low viscosity at room temperature (67.6 pa s at 20 °C). Most importantly, the G-PEGs showed excellent dispersion in solvents, such as water and ethanol. Those unique properties of G-PEGs may offer new scientific and technical opportunities for the applications of graphene. At the same time, the facile route to G-PEGs can be used in the fabrication of various GO or graphene based composite materials.