Radial Distribution Function Analysis and Molecular Simulation of Graphene Nanoplatelets Obtained by Mechanical Ball Milling

Abstract

Graphene nanoplatelets have been synthesized by ball milling of synthetic graphite and its structural features studied by x-ray analysis using Mo Kα radiation followed by the proposal of a possible molecular arrangement using AVOGADRO® software. Additional characterization using complementary techniques was also performed. The radial and total distribution functions of the coordination number, as well as atomic distances within short-range order, revealed that oxygen atoms were incorporated into the material produced after 24 h of grinding. The structural disorder parameter (ξ) was found to be ~ 3.5, as well as superposition between the second and third coordination spheres (r ~ 2.4 × 10−1 nm), which can be attributed to the presence of oxygen atoms, as suggested by localized defects.