A low cost, bulk synthesis of the thermally reduced graphene oxide in an aqueous solution of sulphuric acid & hydrogen peroxide via electrochemical method

Abstract

The electrochemical approach is considered the simplest, most environmentally friendly, low-cost, and bulk synthesis route from graphite. The proposed approach is based upon the low cost, bulk synthesis of the thermally reduced graphene oxide (TrGO) by using the high voltage (DC power ∼56 V) electrochemical method in an aqueous solution of 0.5 M sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and 3% of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (electrolyte heating assisted method at 60 °C) as an electrolyte. The cylindrical graphite and cylindrical aluminium have been used as an anode and cathode. The sterilized water (for irrigation U.S.P.) has been used for the H2SO4 dilution and sonication instead of deionization water (DI water). The thermal stability, crystal structure, and interplanar distance of the TrGO seem to be unaffected by the re-annealing during the TGA and XRD analysis. After re-annealing, the Raman spectra and AFM analysis indicated that the degrees of defect increased in the low defect domain, while surface roughness decreased. FESEM, EDS, and TEM analyses were used to evaluate the microstructure and elemental composition.