Preparation and characterization of graphene and Ni-decorated graphene using flower petals as the precursor material

A simple method is reported for preparing graphene and nickel-decorated graphene from the petals of lotus and hibiscus flowers by heating the original petals and petals soaked in a nickel(II) chloride solution ranging 800-1600 degrees C under a flowing argon atmosphere for 0.5 h. The products have been characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Graphene prepared at high temperature (>1200 degrees C) is purer than that obtained at a lower temperature (800 degrees C). The presence of nickel has been found to have improved the quality of the graphene and electron density near the Fermi energy level. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.