A comparative investigation of the chemical reduction of graphene oxide for electrical engineering applications.
Tomasz Chudziak, Verónica Montes-García, Włodzimierz Czepa, Dawid Pakulski, Andrzej Musiał, Cataldo Valentini, Michał Bielejewski, Michela Carlin, Aurelia Tubaro, Marco Pelin, Paolo Samorì, Artur Ciesielski
Author Information
Tomasz Chudziak: Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, Poznań, Poland.
Verónica Montes-García: University of Strasbourg CNRS ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Alleé Gaspard Monge, F-67000 Strasbourg, France. samori@unistra.fr. ORCID
Włodzimierz Czepa: Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, Poznań, Poland.
Dawid Pakulski: Center for Advanced Technologies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 10, Poznań, Poland. ciesielski@unistra.fr.
Andrzej Musiał: Center for Advanced Technologies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 10, Poznań, Poland. ciesielski@unistra.fr.
Cataldo Valentini: Center for Advanced Technologies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 10, Poznań, Poland. ciesielski@unistra.fr. ORCID
Michał Bielejewski: Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań, Poland. ORCID
Michela Carlin: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Fleming 22, 34127 Trieste, Italy. ORCID
Aurelia Tubaro: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Fleming 22, 34127 Trieste, Italy. ORCID
Marco Pelin: Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Fleming 22, 34127 Trieste, Italy. ORCID
Paolo Samorì: University of Strasbourg CNRS ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Alleé Gaspard Monge, F-67000 Strasbourg, France. samori@unistra.fr. ORCID
Artur Ciesielski: Center for Advanced Technologies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 10, Poznań, Poland. ciesielski@unistra.fr. ORCID
The presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on the basal plane and at the edges endows graphene oxide (GO) with an insulating nature, which makes it rather unsuitable for electronic applications. Fortunately, the reduction process makes it possible to restore the sp conjugation. Among various protocols, chemical reduction is appealing because of its compatibility with large-scale production. Nevertheless, despite the vast number of reported chemical protocols, their comparative assessment has not yet been the subject of an in-depth investigation, rendering the establishment of a structure-performance relationship impossible. We report a systematic study on the chemical reduction of GO by exploring different reducing agents (hydrazine hydrate, sodium borohydride, ascorbic acid (AA), and sodium dithionite) and reaction times (2 or 12 hours) in order to boost the performance of chemically reduced GO (CrGO) in electronics and in electrochemical applications. In this work, we provide evidence that the optimal reduction conditions should vary depending on the chosen application, whether it is for electrical or electrochemical purposes. CrGO exhibiting a good electrical conductivity (>1800 S m) can be obtained by using AA (12 hours of reaction), NaSO and NH (independent of the reaction time). Conversely, CrGO displaying a superior electrochemical performance (specific capacitance of 211 F g, and capacitance retention >99.5% after 2000 cycles) can be obtained by using NaBH (12 hours of reaction). Finally, the compatibility of the different CrGOs with wearable and flexible electronics is also demonstrated using skin irritation tests. The strategy described represents a significant advancement towards the development of environmentally friendly CrGOs with properties for advanced applications in electronics and energy storage.
References
ACS Nano. 2018 Nov 27;12(11):10582-10620
[PMID: 30387986]
