Efficient reduction of graphite oxide by chemical reduction and microwave irradiation

Complete reduction of graphene oxide flakes produced from graphite in a mass-production manner is highly interesting. In a joint research project between the Ångström Laboratory and Fudan University in Shanghai, a reduction procedure that combines the ordinary chemical method with microwave treatment is investigated. The electrical conductivity of a reduced graphene oxide thin film is nearly two orders of magnitude higher than that obtained by the chemical method alone.

Chenyu, W. ; Na, Z. ; Wei Zhang, D. ; Dongping, W. ; Zhi-Bin, Z. ; and Shi-Li, Z., Efficient reduction and exfoliation of graphite oxide by sequential chemical reduction and microwave irradiation (2014). Synthetic Metals, Volume 194, August 2014, 71-76; DOI: 10.1016/j.synthmet.2014.04.023.

 

Caption: SEM images of (a) GO, (b) RGO_NaBH4, (c) RGO_MW, (d) RGO_NaBH4 + MW.