Preparation Of Graphene-Based Two Dimensional Composites And Study Of Their Preliminary Applications

Increasing attention has been paid to graphene for its applications in the energetic and catalytic field. Self assembly of organic/inorganic molecules on the surface of graphene has been successfully implemented in the fabrication of two dimensional (2D) grpahene/organic/inorganic composites, where the large specific surface and the high carrier mobility of graphene are fully utilized to promote the properties of the composites. In this article, small molecule surfactant was employed for the surface modification of GO, to prepare graphene/metal nanoparticles composites and nitrogen-doped graphene and the property of the resultant composites was evaluated. The details are as follows:(1) Small molecule surfactant CTAB and gemini surfactant bis(cetyldimethylammonium) butane dibromide (Gem) were employed to modified the surface of GO and the effect of modification was evaluated. The modified GO was then mixed with metal precursors before the addition of NaBH4 for the simultaneous reduction of GO and HAuCl4, in this way, two dimensional graphene/metal nanoparticles (MNPs) composites were prepared. The resultant composites were subject to different characterization, and it turned out that modification of GO with Gem leads to more homogeneous deposition of MNPs on the surface of graphene and the elevated electrochemical performance.(2) CTAB self assembled of on the surface of GO in alkaline solution followed by addition of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). By this means, sandwichlike graphene oxide-based mesoporous silica sheets (GOMS) were constructed. Then GOMS was employed as a template with pyrrole as nitrogen source and GOMS/Polypyrrole (PPy) composite was fabricated. After pyrolysis of the composites and etch of silica template by NaOH solutions, 2D nitrogen doped graphene sheets were prepared which has potential application in supercapacitors.