Functional graphene by thiol-ene click chemistry

Abstract

Thiol-ene click reaction was successfully employed for chemical modification of graphene oxide (GO) by one-step synthesis. Herein, 2,2-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) was used as thermal catalyst and cysteamine hydrochloride (HS-(CH2)2-NH2HCl) was used as thiol-containing compound, which is incorporated to GO surface upon reaction with the C=C bonds. The hydrochloride acts as protecting group for the amine, which is finally eliminated by adding sodium hydroxide. The modified GO contains both S- and N-containing groups (NS-GO). We found that NS-GO sheets form good dispersion in water, ethanol, and ethylene glycol. These graphene dispersions can be processed into functionalized graphene film. Besides, it was demonstrated that NS-GO was proved to be an excellent host matrix for platinum nanoparticles. The developed method paves a new way for graphene modification and its functional nanocomposites.