Abstract |
Graphene is a material that promises much technologic advancement, from more efficient solar cells to higher capacity batteries. Currently the use of graphene is limited due to the difficulty of obtaining large pure sheets. Graphene oxide is similar to graphene except oxygen-containing functional groups are attached to the carbon lattice. Graphene oxide is easier to synthesize than graphene; however, the functional groups reduce the electrical conductivity of the material. If these groups could be partially or fully removed from graphene oxide the material would have properties closer to those of graphene. This process of removing oxygen groups is known as reduction and the final product is aptly called reduced graphene oxide. We aim at investigating if radiation from an electron beam accelerator could reduce graphene oxide. Samples of pre-prepared graphene oxide solution (from Graphene Supermarket Inc. USA) were deposited on glass slides partially coated in Indium tin oxide. After being dried, the samples were irradiated in the dose interval from 100 kGy to 1.6 MGy, using an electron beam accelerator at energies 80 keV and 120 keV. The samples were tested using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to determine any structural changes induced by the radiation, paying special attention to the absorbance peaks corresponding to carboxyl (-COOH) and alcohol (-OH) functional groups as well as the sp2 hybridized Carbon-Carbon bond. Four-probe resistivity measurements were later performed to determine the sheet resistance of the samples and characterize the conductivity changes caused by the radiation.
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Modified Abstract |
Graphene is a material that promises much technologic advancement, from more efficient solar cells to higher capacity batteries. The difficulty of synthesizing graphene currently limits its use. Graphene oxide is similar to graphene except oxygen-containing functional groups are attached to the carbon lattice. Graphene oxide is easier to synthesize than graphene; however, the functional groups reduce the electrical conductivity of the material. This process of removing oxygen groups is known as reduction and the final product of their removal from graphene oxide is aptly called reduced graphene oxide. We aim at investigating if radiation from an electron beam accelerator could reduce graphene oxide. The amount of reduction is characterized with infrared spectroscopy and four-point probe resistivity measurements.
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Possibly a few microscope slides with my samples.