Facile synthesis of graphene via reduction of graphene oxide by artemisinin in ethanol

The preparation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) usually involves highly toxic reducing agents which are harmful to the environment and human health. In this paper, a mediated facile and relative green approach for the preparation of RGO in ethanol using artemisinin as a reducing agent is reported for the first time. The morphology and de-oxidation efficiency of the obtained RGO were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that artemisinin can effectively reduce GO into few-layered RGO with a high carbon to oxygen ratio (11.7). The mechanism for elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups decorated on GO nanosheets by artemisinin was proposed. The important features of relatively environmentally friendly and facile operation procedures endow this approach with great promise in the mass production of RGO and various graphene-based materials, especially for biomaterials. (C) 2018 The Chinese Ceramic Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.