Facile synthesis of water-soluble graphene-based composite: Non-covalently functionalized with chitosan-ionic liquid conjugation

Chitosan-ionic liquid conjugation (CILC), which was prepared through the reaction of 1-(4-bromobutyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide (BBMIB) with chitosan, was firstly used to prepare functionalized graphene composite via the chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO). The obtained water soluble graphene-based composite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and so on. CILC-RGO showed excellent dispersion stability in water at the concentration of 2.0 mg/mL, which was stable for several months without any precipitate. This may be ascribed to the electrostatic attraction and pi-pi interaction between CILC and graphene.