TY - JOUR AB - A non-destructive and versatile chemical reduction method was used to dissolve and subsequently brominate few-layer graphene sheets (FLGs); the direct covalent attachment of bromine to the graphene framework was demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The brominated few-layer graphenes (FLG-Br) provide a convenient, stable, liquid-phase precursor, suitable for the synthesis of a variety of directly functionalised graphenes. As an example, the FLG-Br species was used to initiate atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP), to obtain poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-grafted graphene (FLG-PMMA), which was six times more dispersible in acetone than controls. In addition, the FLG-Br is active for nucleophilic substitution reactions, as illustrated by the preparation of methoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG)- and OH-substituted derivatives. The products were characterised by thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS), XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Grafting ratios (GR) for these polymer-grafted materials varied between 6 and 25%; even at these GRs, all graphene derivatives showed increased solubility in organic solvents. AU - Au,H AU - Rubio,N AU - Shaffer,MSP DO - 10.1039/c7sc03455e EP - 217 PY - 2018/// SN - 2041-6520 SP - 209 TI - Brominated graphene as a versatile precursor for multifunctional grafting T2 - Chemical Science UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c7sc03455e UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/56800 VL - 9 ER -