Preparation of nickel-coated graphene and evaluation of infrared interference performance

Abstract

In this paper, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was prepared by oxidation-reduction method, and then RGO/Ni composite was prepared by chemical plating method. The RGO and RGO/Ni samples were characterized by the methods of SEM, TEM, XPS, EDS, XRD, etc. The complex refractive index of the samples in 2~14μm infrared wavebands was measured by ellipsometry method, and the infrared absorption characteristic was calculated by DDA method. Then, the infrared interference performance was tested by the method of Fourier transform spectrometer connected with smaller smoke box, and the dispersivity was also comprehensively evaluated by Carr index method. It is found that electroless nickel plating not only can ease the secondary agglomeration between the RGO layers, improve its dispersivity, but also change the electromagnetic properties of graphene surface and significantly improve its infrared absorption. From the infrared interference performance test, it can be seen that the average extinction coefficients of RGO smoke to 3~5 μm and 8~14 μm infrared is 2.56m2/g and 1.8m2/g, respectively. While the average infrared extinction coefficients of RGO/Ni in the corresponding wavebands is 2.9m2/g and 2.55m2/g, respectively. It further indicates that the surface modification of electroless nickel plating can greatly promote the infrared interference performance of RGO. In particular, the far-infrared extinction performance has been obviously improved.