Graphite oxide:: Chemical reduction to graphite and surface modification with primary aliphatic amines and amino acids

The chemical reduction of graphite oxide (GO) to graphite by either NaBH4 or hydroquinone and also its surface modification with neutral, primary aliphatic amines and amino acids are described. Treatment of GO with NaBH4 leads to turbostatic graphite that upon calcination under an inert atmosphere is transformed to highly ordered graphitic carbon, while the reduction with hydroquinone yields directly crystalline graphite under soft thermal conditions. On account of the surface-exposed epoxy groups present in the GO solid, its surface modification with neutral, primary aliphatic amines or amine-containing molecules (amino acids and aminosiloxanes) takes place easily through the corresponding nucleophilic substitution reactions. In this way, valuable GO derivatives can be obtained, like molecular pillared GO, organically modified GO affording in organic solvents stable organosols or hydrophilic GO affording in water stable hydrosols and possessing direct cation exchange sites. The potential combination of surface modification and chemical reduction of GO in producing novel graphite based materials is also presented.