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Effect of Surfactant Mass on the Production of Few-Layer Graphene from Nipah Shell Charcoal (FLG-Nyp) Using the Liquid Phase Exfoliation Method

Program Studi Teknologi Rekayasa Kimia Industri, Politeknik Negeri Cilacap, Kabupaten Cilacap, Indonesia

Received: 9 Dec 2025; Revised: 7 Sep 2026; Accepted: 17 Sep 2026; Published: 30 Sep 2026.
Open Access Copyright 2026 Jurnal Kimia Sains dan Aplikasi under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of surfactant mass on graphene production from Nipah shell charcoal (FLG-Nyp) via the Liquid Phase Exfoliation (LPE) method. The mass of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) surfactant was varied at 2 g, 2.5 g, and 3 g, with a fixed charcoal mass of 3 g and 250 mL of deionized water. The sonication process was carried out for three hours, after which the resulting suspension was dried at 105°C for two hours to obtain FLG powder. Characterization was performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. SEM results showed that adding up to 3 g of surfactant produced thinner FLG sheets with more homogeneous dispersion. XRD analysis revealed that the diffraction peak of FLG-Nyp3 appeared at 2θ = 26.50°, consistent with literature values, indicating the formation of an amorphous structure with the highest degree of exfoliation among the three variants. UV–Vis analysis exhibited a characteristic absorption band at 232 nm for all three samples. The results indicate that the exfoliation of graphitic carbon sheets increased with increasing surfactant mass.

Keywords: few layer graphene; LPE; Nipah; linear alkylbenzene sulfonate
Funding: Directorate of Research and Community Service – Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology under contract 169/C3/DT.05.00/PL-BATCH II/2025

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