(230b) Electroless Deposition of Silver on Graphene Nanosheets

Silver-coated graphene nanosheets (GN) will be prepared by using electroless deposition of solid silver onto the GNs.  Silver is selected because it has higher conductivity and less expensive than other metals frequently used for coating such as gold.  Electroless deposition is a low cost and efficient way of coating silver . Successive centrifugation and sonication is used to clean and separate the silver-coated GNs. The GNs will be viewed under SEM to determine if a uniform coating has been obtained. Preliminary Experiments have been performed with carbon nanotubes. The silver-coated GNs should show significant improvements in electrical and thermal conductivity over uncoated GNs and these properties will be tested. Silver coated GNs will be dispersed in polymers to enhance the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties.