Effect of temperature and time on hydrothermally synthesized nitrogen-doped graphene

Abstract

Graphene attracts attention due to its high surface area and its great electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Studies about graphene have been conducted to develop synthesis methods and to determine the effects of synthesis parameters on productivity and properties. In recent years, studies have focused on doping graphene with foreign atoms to improve its properties. Nitrogen (N) is of interest among doping materials because it increases graphene’s electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical performance. In this study, the production of nitrogen-doped graphene was studied, and a 2-stage synthesis procedure was used. In the first stage, graphene oxide was obtained from graphite by using the Modified Hummers method. To obtain N-doped graphene (N-graphene) from synthesized graphene oxide, N doping and hydrothermal method were used in the second stage. To determine the effect of temperature and time on the hydrothermal production of N-graphene from graphene oxide, 3 different temperatures and 3 different times were studied. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analyses, and the Debye-Scherrer equation indicated that nitrogen-doped graphene was obtained. The effects of temperature and time on synthesizing N-graphene were discussed within the scope of the parameters used in the hydrothermal method.