Fluorinated graphene has potentially useful properties and could also be used for the synthesis of other graphene derivatives. However, the large-scale production of high-quality fluorinated graphene remains difficult.

Marc Dubois, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, France, and colleagues have developed a method for the efficient preparation of weakly fluorinated graphene nanosheets. The team used fast thermal exfoliation of highly fluorinated graphite to prepare the desired material. The team first fluorinated highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) using F₂ gas, resulting in complete fluorine saturation. The graphite was then exfoliated using a fast temperature increase of about 10 °C/s under an argon atmosphere.

During the process, the fluorinated graphite partly decomposes and gaseous species such as CF₄ and C₂F₆ are produced. This assists the exfoliation. The fluorine content of the resulting graphene sheets is reduced, which makes the product conductive. According to the researchers, the weakly fluorinated graphene could have applications, e.g., in electrochemical gas sensing or for the adsorption of biomolecules.

• Large-Scale Synthesis of Fluorinated Graphene by Rapid Thermal Exfoliation of Highly Fluorinated Graphite,
  Michael Herraiz, Marc DuBois, Nicolas Batisse, Samar Hajjar, Laurent Simon,
  Dalton Trans. 2018.
  https://doi.org/10.1039/c7dt04565d