One-Step Green Production of Biocompatible Functionalized Few-Layer Graphene/Boron Nitride Nanosheet Hybrids Using Tannic Acid-Based Liquid-Phase Exfoliation

Two-dimensional functionalized few-layer graphene (FFG) and boron nitride nanosheets (BNNs) hold great promise as photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, and fillers in polymer matrices due to their ultrahigh structure, high Young's modulus, and wide band gap. On the other hand, the scalable production of 2D nanohybrids still remains a challenge. In this study, we suggested a novel tannic acid-based exfoliation for the efficient production of FFG/BNN hybrids. This strategy resulted in a high exfoliation yield of 57.3%, and the resulting tannic acid-functionalized 2D nanohybrids had a high ζ potential, indicating the good dispersion ability of the produced FFG/BNN. The influence of preparation parameters such as tannic acid concentration, pH, sonication time, and precursor ratio on the FFG/BNN yield was thoroughly examined. Cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase release assay performed on two normal cell lines revealed that at lower doses (≤100 μg/mL) FFG/BNN was biocompatible for up to 48 h of treatment. This study presents a one-step, green, highly efficient approach for the production of biocompatible FFG/BNN nanohybrids.