High‐Yield and Damage‐free Exfoliation of Layered Graphdiyne in Aqueous Phase

Abstract

Abstract The two‐dimensional carbon material graphdiyne (GDY) holds great promise as a semiconductor and porous material, however, exfoliation of bulk GDY into single‐ or few‐layered GDY in the aqueous phase remains a challenge. We report an efficient method for the damage‐free exfoliation of bulk GDY into single‐ or few‐layered GDY with high yield in an aqueous solution of inorganic salts (e.g., Li 2 SiF 6 ). This was confirmed by spherical‐aberration‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, scanning/transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared/Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The method gives high exfoliation efficiency (75 wt %) without creating additional structural defects or oxides in the exfoliated GDY. Theoretical calculations suggest that non‐covalent adsorption of the anion, diffusion of the cation, and subsequent repulsive forces between adjacent flakes are the main driving force for the efficient exfoliation.