Scalable Preparation of Low-Defect Graphene by Urea-Assisted Liquid-Phase Shear Exfoliation of Graphite and Its Application in Doxorubicin Analysis

Abstract

The mass production of graphene is of great interest for commercialization and industrial applications. Here, we demonstrate that high-quality graphene nanosheets can be produced in large quantities by liquid-phase shear exfoliation under ambient conditions in organic solvents, such as 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), with the assistance of urea as a stabilizer. We can achieve low-defect graphene (LDG) using this approach, which is relatively simple and easily available, thereby rendering it to be an efficient route for the mass production of graphene. We also demonstrate the electrochemical sensing of an LDG-modified electrode for the determination of doxorubicin (DOX). The sensor shows an enhanced electrocatalytic property towards DOX, leading to a high sensitivity (7.23 × 10−1 μM/μA) with a detection limit of 39.3 nM (S/N = 3).