Gelatin-assisted fabrication of water-dispersible graphene and its inorganic analogues

Abstract

Two dimensional nanomaterials are of great significance in a wide range of applications due to their high surface area and novel properties. Here we offer a simple and large-scale method to prepare graphene and its inorganic analogues (MoS₂, WS₂ and boron nitride) by the sonication of their bulk materials in an aqueous solution of gelatin. The concentrations of the obtained stable dispersions were up to 0.6, 0.8, 0.9 and 1.4 mg mL⁻¹ for graphene, MoS₂, WS₂ and boron nitride, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy strongly suggests that the materials have been exfoliated into few- or mono-layer thin sheets. Specifically, graphene and MoS₂ dispersion have been directly employed to fabricate gelatin–graphene composites. Scanning electron microscope images show that graphene flakes were homogeneously dispersed in the composites. The tensile test results show that the mechanical properties of gelatin films have been remarkably improved by graphene rather than MoS₂.