Enhanced room-temperature reduction of graphene oxide using Al as a supplement in the liquid phase HI

Abstract

Chemical reduction of graphene oxide has emerged as one of the most suitable processes for low-cost and large-scale production of graphene for potential applications. Here we report a simple, efficient, scalable, room-temperature method for enhanced reduction of graphene oxide (GO). Nowadays, hydroiodic acid (HI) is being widely used as a reducing agent for synthesizing highly conductive reduced graphene oxide. Herein, aluminum (Al) powder was used in the second step to improve the extent of reduction using HI. Al3+, which is a strong lewis acid, helps further in the reduction and enhances the one-step reduction by HI. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the formation of GO and assisted in understanding the potential of HI and Al–HI as reducing agents. The comparative analysis demonstrates the enhancement in the reduction properties of the novel Al supplemented reduced GO. Additionally, an electrically conductive dip-coated film with a sheet resistance of 4.56 × 104 Ω/sq was successfully fabricated using this Al-supplemented reduction technique.