A green approach for the reduction of graphene oxide by wild carrot root

A green approach for the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) using wild carrot root is reported in this work. It avoids the use of toxic and environmentally harmful reducing agents commonly used in the chemical reduction of GO to obtain graphene. The endophytic microorganisms present in the carrot root, reduces exfoliated GO to graphene at room temperature in an aqueous medium. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images provide clear evidence for the formation of few layer graphene. Characterization of the resulting carrot reduced GO by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows partial reduction of GO to graphene. Raman spectroscopy data also indicates the partial removal of oxygen-containing functional groups from the surface of GO and formation of graphene with defects. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.