Tuning the Oxygen Content of Reduced Graphene Oxide and Effects on Its Properties

The need to recover the graphene properties in terms of electrical and thermal conductivity calls for the application of reduction processes leading to the removal of oxygen atoms from the graphene oxide sheet surface. The recombination of carbon-carbon double bonds causes a partial recovery of the original graphene properties mainly limited by the presence of residual oxygen atoms and lattice defects. However, the loss of polar oxygen-based functional groups renders the material dispersibility rather complicated. In addition, oxygen-containing functional groups are reaction sites useful to further bind active molecules to engineer the reduced graphene sheets. For these reasons, a variety of chemical processes are described in the literature to reduce the graphene oxide. However, it is greatly important to select a chemical process enabling a thin modulation of the residual oxygen content thus tuning the properties of the final product. In this work, we will present a chemical-processing technique based on the hydroiodic acid to carefully control the degree of residual oxidation. Graphene oxides were reduced using hydroiodic acid with concentrations from 0.06 to 0.95 mol L-1. Their properties were characterized in detail and tested, and the results showed that their oxygen content was finely tuned from 33.6 to 10.7 atom %. This allows carefully tailoring the material properties with respect to the desired application, which is exemplified by the variation of the bulk resistance from 92 Omega to 14.8 M Omega of the film from the obtained rGO.

Automated summary

Recovering the properties of graphene through reduction processes involves removing oxygen atoms, though residual oxygen atoms and lattice defects still limit the recovery of the original properties. It is crucial to select a chemical process that allows for fine tuning of residual oxygen content and thus adjusting the properties of the final product. In this study, a chemical-processing technique using hydroiodic acid successfully tuned the oxygen content from 33.6% to 10.7%, showcasing precise control over material properties.