Synthesis and characterization of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) onto graphene oxide

The polyzwitterionic brushes comprised of poly(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (pMPC) segments, which are used for surface modification of polymers and biocompatible coatings, were investigated. In this work, reverse surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) of zwitterionic 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) is employed to tailor the functionality of graphene oxide (GeneO) in a well‐controlled manner and produce a series of well‐defined hemocompatible hybrids (termed as GeneO‐g‐pMPC). The complexes were characterized by FT‐IR, XRD, and Raman. Results show that MPC has been coordinated on the graphene oxide sheet. Thermal stability of the nanocomposites in comparison with the neat copolymer is revealed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope images of the nanoconposite displays pMPC chains were capable of existing on GeneO sheet by RATRP. The biocompatibility properties were measured by plasma recalcification profile tests, hemolysis test, and MTT assays, respectively. The results confirm that the pMPC grafting can substantially enhance the hemocompatibility of the GeneO particles, and the GeneO‐g‐pMPC hybrids can be used as biomaterials without causing any hemolysis. With the versatility of RATRP and the excellent hemocompatibility of zwitterionic polymer chains, the GeneO‐g‐pMPC nanoparticles with desirable blood properties can be readily tailored to cater to various biomedical applications. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Injectable Graphene Oxide/Graphene Composite Supramolecular Hydrogel for Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs

Injectable hydrogels have attracted a lot of attention in drug delivery, however, their capacity to deliver water-insoluble or hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs is limited. Here, we developed injectable graphene oxide/graphene composite supramolecular hydrogels to deliver anti-cancer drugs. Pluronic F-127 was used to stabilize graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in solution, which was mixed with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) solution to form hydrogels. Native hydrogel was used as control. GO or RGO slightly shortened gelation time. The storage and loss moduli of the hydrogels were tracked by dynamic force measurement. The storage modulus of GO or RGO composite hydrogels was larger than that of the native hydrogel. Hydrogels were unstable in solution and eroded gradually. GO or RGO in Pluronic F-127 solution could potentially improve the solubility of the water-insoluble anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT), especially with large drug-loaded CPT amount. Drug release behaviors from solutions and hydrogels were characterized. The nanocomponents (GO or RGO) were able to bind more drug molecules either for CPT or for doxorubicin hydrochloride (DXR) in solution. Therefore, GO or RGO composite hydrogel could potentially enable better controlled and gentler drug release (for both CPT and DXR) than native hydrogel.     

Strong covalent bonding modulated graphene oxide/epoxy interfacial enhancement and advanced corrosion resistance

Abstract

Chemically functionalized graphene oxide [multi-amino functionalized graphene oxide (MAGO)] was achieved by building covalent bonds between graphene oxide (GO) and a small molecule containing benzene structure and multi-amino groups. Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photo electron spectroscopy and TEM-EDX results certified that the molecule was successfully grafted onto GO nanosheets. Subsequently, functionalized GO was incorporated into waterborne epoxy (EP) coating through ball-milling method. This molecular design can significantly improve the dispersion of MAGO in EP matrix, as well as the compatibility and interaction between MAGO and EP. Compared with GO/EP, the water absorption of MAGO/EP decreased from 4.38 to 2.59%, the adhesion strength of MAGO/EP increased from 4.72 to 6.32?MPa after immersion of 40?days in 3.5% NaCl solution. Incorporation of 1?wt% of MAGO into EP matrix prominently improved the long-term corrosion resistance. The impedance modulus of GO/EP coating decreased by four orders after 40 days immersion, while that of MAGO/EP coating only decreased by one order. The impedance modulus was still 1.47?×?10⁸ Ω cm², and two-time constant wasn’t detected for MAGO/EP coating. This research developed a novel green anticorrosion coating with enhanced durability for metal protection.     

Dispersion of Graphene Sheets in Aqueous Solution by Oligodeoxynucleotides

Applications of graphene sheets in the fields of biosensors and biomedical devices are limited by their insolubility in water. Consequently, understanding the dispersion mechanism of graphene in water and exploring an effective way to prepare stable dispersions of graphene sheets in water is of vital importance for their application in biomaterials, biosensors, biomedical devices, and drug delivery. Herein, a method for stable dispersion of graphene sheets in water by single‐stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs) is studied. Owing to van der Waals interactions between graphene sheets, they undergo layer‐to‐layer (LtL) aggregation in water. Molecular dynamics simulations show that, by disrupting van der Waals interaction of graphene sheets with ssODNs, LtL aggregation of graphene sheets is prevented, and water molecules can be distributed stably between graphene sheets. Thus, graphene sheets are dispersed stably in water in the presence of ssODNs. The effects of size and molarity of ssODNs and noncovalent modification of graphene sheets are also discussed.     

On the Addition of Aryl Radicals to Graphene: The Importance of Nonbonded Interactions

Dispersion‐corrected density functional theory is utilized to study the addition of aryl radicals to perfect and defective graphene. Although the perfect sheet shows a low reactivity against aryl diazonium salts, the agglomeration of these groups and the addition onto defect sites improves the feasibility of the reaction by increasing binding energies per aryl group up to 27 kcal mol^?1. It is found that if a single phenyl radical interacts with graphene, the covalent and noncovalent additions have similar binding energies, but in the particular case of the nitrophenyl group, the adsorption is stronger than the chemisorption. The single vacancy shows the largest reactivity, increasing the binding energy per aryl group by about 80 kcal mol^?1. The zigzag edge ranks second, enhancing the reactivity 5.4 times with respect to the perfect sheet. The less reactive defect site is the Stone–Wales type, but even in this case the addition of an isolated aryl radical is exergonic. The arylation process is favored if the groups are attached nearby and on different sublattices. This is particularly true for the ortho and para positions. However, the enhancement of the binding energies decreases quickly if the distance between the two aryl radicals is increased, thereby making the addition on the perfect sheet difficult. A bandgap of 1–2 eV can be opened on functionalization of the graphene sheets with aryl radicals, but for certain configurations the sheet can maintain its semimetallic character even if there is one aryl radical per eight carbon atoms. At the highest level of functionalization achieved, that is, one aryl group per five carbon atoms, the bandgap is 1.9 eV. Regarding the effect of using aryl groups with different substituents, it is found that they all induce the same bandgap and thus the presence of NO₂, H, or Br is not relevant for the alteration of the electronic properties. Finally, it is observed that the presence of tetrafluoroborate can induce metallic character in graphene.     

Computational Studies on Non‐covalent Interactions of Carbon and Boron Fullerenes with Graphene

First‐principles DFT calculations are carried out to study the changes in structures and electronic properties of two‐dimensional single‐layer graphene in the presence of non‐covalent interactions induced by carbon and boron fullerenes (C₆₀, C₇₀, C₈₀ and B₈₀). Our study shows that larger carbon fullerene interacts more strongly than the smaller fullerene, and boron fullerene interacts more strongly than that of its carbon analogue with the same nuclearity. We find that van der Waals interactions play a major role in governing non‐covalent interactions between the adsorbed fullerenes and graphene. Moreover, a greater extent of van der Waals interactions found for the larger fullerenes, C₈₀ and B₈₀, relative to smaller C₆₀, and consequently, results in higher stabilisation. We find a small amount of electron transfer from graphene to fullerene, which gives rise to a hole‐doped material. We also find changes in the graphene electronic band structures in the presence of these surface‐decorated fullerenes. The Dirac cone picture, such as that found in pristine graphene, is significantly modified due to the re‐hybridisation of graphene carbon orbitals with fullerenes orbitals near the Fermi energy. However, all of the composites exhibit perfect conducting behaviour. The simulated absorption spectra for all of the graphene–fullerene hybrids do not exhibit a significant change in the absorption peak positions with respect to the pristine graphene absorption spectrum. Additionally, we find that the hole‐transfer integral between graphene and C₆₀ is larger than the electron‐transfer integrals and the extent of these transfer integrals can be significantly tuned by graphene edge functionalisation with carboxylic acid groups. Our understanding of the non‐covalent functionalisation of graphene with various fullerenes would promote experimentalists to explore these systems, for their possible applications in electronic and opto‐electronic devices.     

自旋转换-氧化石墨烯纳米复合材料的制备及磁性

利用氧化石墨烯（GO）表面具有丰富含氧基团的特点,采用原位生长法将经典的亚铁三氮唑自旋转换（SCO）配位聚合物[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）负载到二维材料GO的表面。利用X射线粉末衍射（PXRD）、红外光谱（FTIR）、SEM、TEM、拉曼等手段对自旋转换-氧化石墨烯（SCO-GO）纳米复合材料进行了表征。通过光谱表征发现,复合材料的FTIR和PXRD特征峰为GO和[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）特征峰的叠加,初步证明了自旋转换-氧化石墨烯纳米复合材料已成功制备。SEM和TEM分析直观地显示立方体状的[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）纳米颗粒均匀地分散在氧化石墨烯表面,且随着原位生长时间的增加,GO表面的[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）的负载量增加、尺寸增大。拉曼图谱表明[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）负载到GO表面后,氧化石墨烯特征拉曼峰的强度比（ID/IG）增大,说明氧化石墨烯的缺陷密集程度增大,[Fe（Htrz）₂（trz）]（BF₄）纳米颗粒与石墨烯之间的作用力增强。磁性测试表明不同自组装时间（1、6、12 h）的SCO-GO复合材料的T_1/2↑分别为381.1、381.5和382.4 K,T_1/2↓分别为345.9、345.0和344.8 K,其磁滞回线宽度分别为35.2、36.5和37.6 K,这是由于不同自组装时间的SCO-GO复合材料中[Fe（Htrz）2（trz）]（BF4）的负载量和尺寸的差异导致的。DSC分析结果和磁性结果一致,证实了SCO-GO复合材料自旋转变温度向高温区移动。     

碳和石墨烯对磷酸锰锂材料性能的影响

在采用溶剂热法制备磷酸锰锂的基础上,以蔗糖和石墨烯为碳源,制备了裂解碳和石墨烯含量不同的磷酸锰锂/碳/石墨烯复合材料,研究了裂解碳和石墨烯对材料性能的影响。采用扫描电镜（SEM）和透射电镜（TEM）对材料的形貌进行了表征。裂解碳包覆可以提高LiMnPO₄纳米片表面的电子导电性,对于材料性能的改善起到主要的作用;石墨烯可以提高纳米片之间的电子和离子导电性,改善材料的电化学性能。电化学测试表明,当裂解碳含量为4%、石墨烯含量为2%时,LiMnPO₄电极具有较好的电化学性能,在0.5C下的放电比容量为139.1 mAh·g^-1,循环100次后,容量保持率为93.6%。与添加单一碳和单一石墨烯的LiMnPO₄电极相比,该电极在0.5C下的放电比容量分别提高了35.0%和48.6%。