A new, fast and facile synthesis method for reduced graphene oxide in N, N-dimethylformamide

Reduced graphene oxide represents a great substitute for pristine graphene that can be used in a plethora of applications because it possesses graphene-like properties and it can be rapidly synthesized in aqueous suspensions using a variety of cost-effective methods based on reducing chemical agents. Still, due to its limited processability in organic solvents, reduced graphene oxide has not yet been used at its full potential in, for instance, organic optoelectronics or (conjugated) polymer-based composites. Here, we reduced graphene oxide in N,N-dimethylformamide without using any reducing agents, by developing a new, fast and facile solvothermal microwave-assisted method. As indicated by the UV-vis absorption and Raman spectroscopies, this method led to stable, rather highly concentrated dispersions of reduced graphene oxide through partial removal of oxygenated groups from graphene oxide surface. Synthesis of reduced graphene oxide in an organic solvent opens new possibilities towards the development and processing of composite materials based on (conjugated) polymers and reduced graphene oxide.