Comparative study of synthesis and reduction methods for graphene oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have congregated much interest as promising active materials for a variety of applications such as electrodes for supercapacitors. Yet, partially given the absence of comparative studies in synthesis methodologies, a lack of understanding persists on how to best tailor these materials. In this work, the effect of using different graphene oxidation–reduction strategies in the structure and chemistry of rGOs is systematically discussed. Two of the most popular oxidation routes in the literature were used to obtain GO. Subsequently, two sets of rGO powders were synthesized employing three different reduction routes, totalling six separate products. It is shown that the extension of the structural rearrangement in rGOs is not just dependent on the reduction step but also on the approach followed for the initial graphite oxidation.