Quantifying Surface Area of Nanosheet Graphene Oxide Colloid Using a Gas-Phase Electrostatic Approach

We demonstrate a new, facile gas-phase electrostatic approach to successfully quantify equivalent surface area of graphene oxide (GO) colloid on a number basis. Mobility diameter (d_p,m)-based distribution and the corresponding equivalent surface area (SA) of GO colloids (i.e., with different lateral aspect ratios) were able to be identified by electrospray-differential mobility analysis (ES-DMA) coupled to a condensation particle counter (CPC) and an aerosol surface area analyzer (ASAA). A correlation of SA ∝ d_p,m^2.0 was established using the ES-DMA-CPC/ASAA, which is consistent with the observation by the 2-dimensional image analysis of size-selected GOs. An ultrafast surface area measurement of GO colloid was achieved via a direct coupling of ES with a combination of ASAA and CPC (i.e., measurement time was 2 min per sample; without size classification). The measured equivalent surface area of GO was ∼202 ± 7 m² g^–1, which is comparable to Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, ∼240 ± 59 m² g^–1. The gas-phase electrostatic approach proposed in this study has the superior advantages of being fast, requiring no elaborate drying process, and requiring only a very small amount of sample (i.e., <0.01 mg). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of using an aerosol-based electrostatic coupling technique to obtain the equivalent surface area of graphene oxide on a number basis with a high precision of measurement.