Methodology for assessment of nanographene platelets

This paper describes the methodology used to characterize the as-received nanographene platelets (NGPs) from several nanomaterial manufacturers. The microstructures of these NGPs were first examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at several different magnifications. The thermal stability of these NGPs was evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) with at least three different heating rates, such as 5, 10, and 20°C/min in nitrogen or 5, 20, and 40°C/min in argon atmosphere. The residual mass of these NGPs were compared. The kinetics parameters, such as the activation energy and pre-exponential factor of these NGPs were then calculated using the isoconversion technique. Nine NGPs were characterized using the above methods. The similarities and differences of these NPGs were compared. Based on these facile techniques, one can rank the morphological and thermal characteristics of these NGPs. This serves as a simple screening method to select which NPG should be chosen for whatever specific application is desired.