Papers

Peer-reviewed
Sep, 2010

Self-Propagating Domino-like Reactions in Oxidized Graphite

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
  • Franklin Kim
  • ,
  • Jiayan Luo
  • ,
  • Rodolfo Cruz-Silva
  • ,
  • Laura J. Cote
  • ,
  • Kwonnam Sohn
  • ,
  • Jiaxing Huang

Volume
20
Number
17
First page
2867
Last page
2873
Language
English
Publishing type
Research paper (scientific journal)
DOI
10.1002/adfm.201000736
Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Graphite oxide (GO) has received extensive interest as a precursor for the bulk production of graphene-based materials. Here, the highly energetic nature of GO, noted from the self-propagating thermal deoxygenating reaction observed in solid state, is explored. Although the resulting graphene product is quite stable against combustion even in a natural gas flame, its thermal stability is significantly reduced when contaminated with potassium salt by-products left from GO synthesis. In particular, the contaminated GO becomes highly flammable. A gentle touch with a hot soldering iron can trigger violent, catastrophic, total combustion of such GO films, which poses a serious fire hazard. This highlights the need for efficient sample purification methods. Typically, purification of GO is hindered by its tendency to gelate as the pH value increases during rinsing. A two-step, acid-acetone washing procedure is found to be effective for suppressing gelation and thus facilitating purification. Salt-induced flammability is alarming for the fire safety of large-scale manufacturing, processing, and storage of GO materials. However, the energy released from the deoxygenation of GO can also be harnessed to drive new reactions for creating graphene-based hybrid materials. Through such domino-like reactions, graphene sheets decorated with metal and metal oxide particles are synthesized using GO as the in situ power source. Enhanced electrochemical capacitance is observed for graphene sheets loaded with RuO2 nanoparticles.

Link information
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201000736
Web of Science
https://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=JSTA_CEL&SrcApp=J_Gate_JST&DestLinkType=FullRecord&KeyUT=WOS:000282288600013&DestApp=WOS_CPL
ID information
  • DOI : 10.1002/adfm.201000736
  • ISSN : 1616-301X
  • Web of Science ID : WOS:000282288600013

Export
BibTeX RIS