Ultrasound-free preparation of graphene oxide from mechanochemically oxidized graphite

Abstract

We propose an ultrasound-free preparation of graphene oxide using spontaneous exfoliation of specifically synthesized graphite oxide in water for the first time. Graphite was mechanochemically oxidized by KMnO₄ in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of sulfuric acid. The shear stresses generated during the oxidation lead to primary delamination of the graphite oxide particles and in combination with the presence of the surface oxygen-containing functional groups facilitate their further exfoliation in water without the use of ultrasound disintegration. The synthesized graphene oxide luminesces in the blue region of the spectrum.