Analytical Sciences

Abstract − Analytical Sciences, 35(3), 307 (2019).

Polyethylene Glycols for the Dispersion Development of Graphene in an Aqueous Surfactant Solution Studied by Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis
Toshio TAKAYANAGI,* Yuta BECCHAKU,** Yuki TOMIYAMA,*** Masashi KURASHINA,* and Hitoshi MIZUGUCHI*
*Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, 2-1 Minamijosanjima-cho, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan
**College of Life and Materials Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Advanced Technology and Science, Tokushima University, 2-1 Minamijosanjima-cho, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan
***Department of Chemical Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Tokushima University, 2-1 Minamijosanjima-cho, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan
Water-soluble nonionic polymers of polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were examined to develop the dispersion of graphene in an aqueous surfactant solution. Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate was used as an anionic surfactant to disperse graphene in an aqueous solution and to give negative charge on it. The dispersion of graphene was monitored through the electropherograms in affinity capillary electrophoresis; a broad peak for the dispersed graphene and shot signals for the aggregated one. When PEG was added in the separation buffer as an affinity reagent, the number of the shot signals in the electropherogram was reduced; PEG can develop the dispersion of graphene in an aqueous surfactant solution. The dispersion was also developed with PVP or PVA. The effective electrophoretic mobility of the dispersed graphene was reduced by using the polymer as an affinity reagent. The result suggested that the anionic surfactant on the graphene surface was competitively substituted with the nonionic polymer. The degree of the decrease in the effective electrophoretic mobility was larger with PEG with a high-molecular mass. The broad peak of the dispersed graphene got narrower by the addition of PEG, and the number of theoretical plates was improved.