Synthesis of graphene oxide from used electrode graphite with controlled oxidation process

Abstract

Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide attract a lot of attention due to graphene provides some properties that suitable for wider application. Properties of graphene are unique since it can be tuned regarding to its controlled synthesis method and several treatments. This work, graphene oxide was synthesized from used graphite electrode by modified Hummer's method in which oxidation process controlled. Zinc was used to produce reduced graphene oxide. Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide were characterized by SEM, EDS, FT-IR, UV-vis, and XRD. Effective strategy was studied to produce graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide by controlling its oxidation process. These results prove that chemical and structural properties of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide depend on oxidation duration. Furthermore, carbon/oxygen ratio was studied to evaluate effective oxidation process.