Abstract
Natural graphite is an important precursor for the production of chemically modified graphenes in bulk quantities for electrochemical applications. These natural graphites have varying fundamental properties due to the different geological processes and environments at their points of origin, which are expected to affect their chemical reactivity and hence the properties of the derived graphene materials. Four different natural graphites with known geographical and geological origins were exposed to a modified Hummers oxidation method and the resulting graphite oxides were studied. The graphite oxides were shown to have different extents of oxidation and types of oxygen groups, which directly influenced their electrochemical properties. These differences were propagated further in the subsequent chemical reduction of the graphite oxides, and the reduced graphene oxides exhibited significantly different reduction efficiencies and electrical conductivities. These findings show that the choice of natural graphite of known origin is important to synthesize chemically modified graphenes with a desired set of properties.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8435-8440 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Chemistry - A European Journal |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 Jun 1 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Catalysis
- Organic Chemistry