Residual acetone produces explosives during the production of graphite oxide

Abstract

Chemically modified graphenes (CMGs) are promising candidates for a wide range of applications. Graphite oxide (GO) is most commonly used to produce CMGs. We note that residual acetone can produce dangerous explosives during the synthesis of GO. Addition of acetone produced acetone peroxides via a reaction with H 2O 2 and H 2SO 4, which are used in the Hummers/modified Hummers methods of making GO. The use of Na 2S 2O 3 instead of H 2O 2 yielded GO without making explosives.