Residual acetone produces explosives during the production of graphite oxide

Chemically modified graphenes (CMGs) are promising candidates for a wide range of applications. Graphite oxide (GO) is most commonly used to produce CMGs. We note that residual acetone can produce dangerous explosives during the synthesis of GO. Addition of acetone produced acetone peroxides via a reaction with H2O2 and H2SO4, which are used in the Hummers/modified Hummers methods of making GO. The use of Na2S2O3 instead of H2O2 yielded GO without making explosives. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.