Abstract
Efficient reduction of graphene oxide to obtain high-quality graphene nanosheets is desirable for energy storage, catalysis, electronics and environmental remediation. In this brief review, we mainly focus on the microwave-assisted production of reduced graphene oxide in three categories: (1) microwave-assisted chemical reduction of graphene oxide; (2) microwave-assisted thermal reduction of graphene oxide; (3) microwave-assisted simultaneous thermal exfoliation & thermal reduction of graphite oxide. We also summarize common techniques for characterizing reduction efficiency and quality of as-obtained rGO.
Highlights
Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of sp2-hybridized carbon
Reduction of graphene oxide or simultaneous exfoliation and reduction of graphite oxide are regarded to be most promising for large scale production of chemically derived graphene, which can be defined as reduced graphene oxide
There are mainly two strategies used for graphene oxide reduction: chemical reduction and thermal reduction, both of which are facing certain challenges
Summary
Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of sp2-hybridized carbon. Owing to its theoretically high mechanical strength (1,060 GPa), thermal conductivity (∼5,000 W m−1 K−1), electron mobility (2 × 105 cm2 V−1 s−1), Young’s modulus (∼1 TPa), surface area (2,630 m2 g−1), electrical conductivity (∼2,000 S m−1), and extraordinary optical properties, graphene has been attracting increasing application in various areas including energy storage [like fuel cells (Li et al, 2012; Hur and Park, 2013; Li and Wu, 2015), batteries (Li et al, 2015; Bak et al, 2016; Kaur et al, 2018), supercapacitors (Le et al, 2011; Akhavan, 2015)], sensors (Shao et al, 2010; Wang and Arash, 2014; Chatterjee et al, 2015), catalysis (Han et al, 2017; Hu et al, 2017), electronics (like liquid crystal displays (Novoselov et al, 2005; Lin et al, 2015; Basu et al, 2016; Narayan et al, 2016), touch panels (Das and Prusty, 2013; Liu et al, 2014; Katkov and Osipov, 2017), electromagnetic interference shielding (Eswaraiah et al, 2011; Thomassin et al, 2013; Song et al, 2014; Cao et al, 2015), environmental remediation (Bi et al, 2012; Qin and Brosseau, 2012; Chabot et al, 2014), and so on. After microwave treatment for 2 × 30 s (on for 10 s, off and stirring for 20 s), the ID/IG in Raman spectra was 0.1–0.12, indicating a high reduction degree even after such a short treating time This was confirmed by the improved thermal stability, showing no significant mass loss up to 750◦C.
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