Synthesis, characterization and electrochemical properties of functionalized graphene oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized by a simple reaction of its carboxylic acid groups with a silanized-metalloid polymer, which gave the resulting hybrid GO the property of efficient dispersion in a variety of solvents. Spectroscopic investigations show that the covalent attachment is effectively accomplished through an amidation process. The combination of a metalloid polymer and GO is unique and the composite material exhibits interesting features not seen in the individual structures. The electrochemical properties of this metalloid-polymer-GO were demonstrated by immobilizing the sample on a conventional gold-printed circuit board (Au-PCB) electrode. Functionalized GO showed a perfect scaling of steady-state currents with correlation coefficients of 0.9600 (I-pc) and 0.9552 (I-pa), indicating the promise of this new GO hybrid as a transducer material for many sensing applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.