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A facile and scalable preparation of aqueous solutions of isolated, sparingly sulfonated graphene is reported. ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectra indicate that the bulk of the oxygen-containing functional groups was removed from graphene oxide. The electrical conductivity of thin evaporated films of graphene (1250 S/m) relative to similarly prepared graphite (6120 S/m) implies that an extended conjugated sp² network is restored in the water soluble graphene.