Graphite oxide with graphene oxide

The process of converting graphite oxide to graphene oxide can ultimately be very damaging to the various layers of graphene, which has other consequences when reducing the compound (explanation to follow). The process of oxidizing graphite to graphite oxide already damages the individual graphene platelets, which reduces their average size, so that other damage is undesirable. Graphene oxide contains monolayer flakes and graphene with a few layers, interspersed with water (depending on the base medium, platelet-platelet interactions may be impaired by surface functionality, leading to improved hydrophilicity ).

To convert graphite oxide into graphene oxide, a few methods are possible. The most common techniques are the use of sonication, stirring or a combination of both. Sonication can be a very effective way to exfoliate graphite oxide, and it is extremely effective for exfoliating graphene (almost at full exfoliation levels), but it can also severely damage graphene flakes, reducing them In surface size from microns to nanometers, and also produces a wide variety of graphene platelet sizes. Mechanical agitation is a much less burdensome approach, but can take much longer to accomplish.