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Separating a layered material into dispersed thin flakes by mechanical processing in a liquid. For graphite, liquid choice, shear or sonication, classification and recovery jointly control the graphene flake distribution. Preserving the lattice does not guarantee a high monolayer yield or a clean final electrode.^[ref]

I would choose liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite into few-layer graphene, followed by controlled electrode formation. It uses bulk feedstock and preserves much of the $s{p}^2$ framework; a battery electrode does not require a wafer-sized perfect monolayer.

Disperse graphite in a compatible liquid, apply shear or sonication, and classify the dispersion to separate thin flakes from unexfoliated material. Recover and wash the selected fraction, remove contaminants and dispersants, then coat a Cu current collector with a suitably bound, porous and electrically connected film. Drying and consolidation should establish contacts without collapsing every transport pore. Characterize thickness and size distributions, residual impurities and conductivity after processing.

The advantages are solution compatibility, accessible feedstock and less basal-plane chemical disruption than oxidation–reduction routes. Limitations include a distribution of layer numbers, limited single-pass yield, flake fragmentation, solvent recovery and drying-induced restacking. Solvent toxicity and retained surfactants matter for manufacturing. In the original exfoliation study, microscopy and spectroscopy distinguished thin flakes from graphite and checked structural preservation; those controls precede any performance claim.^[ref]

Oxidation–exfoliation–reduction is another scalable route, but irreversible lattice damage and residual oxygen make conductivity and first-cycle losses separate concerns.