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Electrocatalytic Activities of Chemically Reduced Graphene Are Essentially Dominated by the Adhered Carbonaceous Debris
Author(s) -
Li Xiaomeng,
Ma Danyang,
Zhu Liande
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201502570
Subject(s) - graphene , exfoliation joint , graphite , oxide , materials science , graphite oxide , electrocatalyst , graphene oxide paper , electrochemistry , debris , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , chemistry , electrode , composite material , metallurgy , geology , oceanography , engineering
Due to its simple, scalable, and facile qualities, the chemical reduction of graphene oxide seems to be the most popular approach to prepare graphene. We show that such prepared graphene is strongly adhered with carbonaceous debris that has been produced during the synthesis of graphene oxide by the chemical exfoliation of graphite and still remain on graphene sheets through the chemical reduction steps. Interestingly, the presence of the carbonaceous debris causes a significant impact on the electrochemical behavior of the chemical reduced graphene. Herein, we demonstrate that the electrocatalytical activities of the graphene are greatly boosted by the adhered carbonaceous debris. After the removal of the carbonaceous debris, the electrocatalysis of graphene is not superior to conventional graphite.