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Concentration of Nitric Acid Strongly Influences Chemical Composition of Graphite Oxide
Author(s) -
Jankovský Ondřej,
Nováček Michal,
Luxa Jan,
Sedmidubský David,
Boháčová Marie,
Pumera Martin,
Sofer Zdeněk
Publication year - 2017
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.201700809
Subject(s) - nitric acid , graphite , nitric oxide , graphite oxide , oxide , graphene , chemistry , composition (language) , inorganic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , linguistics , philosophy
Graphite oxide is the most widely used precursor for the synthesis of graphene through top‐down methods. We demonstrate a significant influence of nitric acid concentration on the structure and composition of the graphite oxide prepared by graphite oxidation. In general, two main chlorate‐based oxidation methods are currently used for graphite oxide synthesis: the Staudenmaier method using 98 wt % nitric acid, and the Hofmann method with 68 wt % nitric acid. However, a gradual change in nitric acid concentration allows a continuous change in the graphite oxide composition. The prepared samples are thoroughly characterised by microscopic techniques as well as various spectroscopic and analytical methods. Lowering the nitric acid concentration leads to an increase in oxidation degree, and in particular, to the concentration of epoxy and hydroxyl groups. This knowledge is not only useful for the large‐scale synthesis of graphite oxide with tuneable size and chemical composition, but the use of nitric acid in lower concentrations can also reduce the overall cost of the synthesis significantly.