Preparation of graphene by exfoliation and its application in lithium-ion batteries

The two-dimensional material graphene has excellent electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Since its successful preparation, graphene has been used in many applications in energy, environment, electronics, or biomedicine fields. Graphene can be prepared on a large scale using top-down strategies, such as using mechanical shear force. Shear force is also used for the preparation of electrode slurry. This paper summarizes the current status of research on integrating the graphene preparation process with electrode slurry preparation. The article starts with a systematic introduction to the principles of the top-down method from the strategy of top-down graphene preparation, followed by a summary of the top-down process classified by the source of external forces. Comparing the top-down process, it was found that the graphene prepared by using mechanical shear force is simple and can be used for mass production. The paper overviews the mechanical techniques utilized to create graphene on a big scale. The use of mechanically exfoliated graphene in lithium-ion batteries is considered. Graphene prepared by mechanical exfoliation method is more beneficial to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries. Prospects for their utilization are reviewed together with developments in process approaches that integrate the manufacture of electrode slurry with the preparation of graphene.