Graphene Oxide Flexible Paper: Comparing the Various Chemical Exfoliation Synthesis Routes

Graphene oxide (GO) papers were successfully synthesized through two different chemical exfoliation methods, namely modified Hummer’s (MHM) and improved Hummer’s (IHM) methods. The properties of these two flexible papers were compared in structural, morphological, and chemical points of view by Raman spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The FTIR spectrashowed oxidation functional groups on both MHM and IHM GO lattice. In terms of structuralproperties, the interlayer distance in IHM was more than that of MHM, while the intensity of D to G band ratio (ID/IG) in IHM was less than that of MHM, which showed more defects in latter case.However, in terms of morphological properties, the both samples demonstrated the two dimensional morphology of GO sheets. Since the yield and hence the concentration of suspension for paper preparation in MHM was far lower than that of the IHM, the thickness of MHM GO paper was lower than the IHM.

Keywords:

Flexible GO paper , Modified Hummers method , Improved Hummers method