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.     

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%。     

三维连续结构Li4Ti5O12/石墨烯纳米复合材料：制备和其锂离子电池超长循环性能

利用具有三维连续纳米孔结构的热剥离石墨烯为骨架制备Li4Ti5O12/石墨烯纳米复合材料。通过乙醇挥发法在热剥离石墨烯的纳米孔道内引入前驱物,进一步高温热处理,在热剥离石墨烯的孔道内原位形成Li4Ti5O12纳米粒子。利用复合材料作为锂离子电池电极材料。电化学反应过程中,热剥离石墨烯的三维连续结构确保了Li4Ti5O12纳米粒子与石墨烯在长循环过程中的有效接触。因此,复合材料表现出优异的循环稳定性。在5C下,5 000次循环后,其容量保持率高达94%。     

季铵盐改性氧化石墨烯的制备及其性能研究

本论文采用改进的Hummers法制备了氧化石墨烯(GO),并将氧化石墨烯用十二烷基二甲基苄基氯化铵(1227)进行修饰,得到1227非共价改性的氧化石墨烯(GO-1227)。用拉曼光谱、漫反射红外光谱分析、X-射线光电子表面能谱技术表征了其化学结构;用X-射线衍射分析、扫描电子显微镜与透射电子显微镜观察了其剥离情况和微观形貌;分析了它们在不同溶剂中的分散性。结果表明,季铵盐改性后,1227阳离子通过静电作用插入到GO片层之间,使GO片层进一步剥离,且在极性较弱的有机溶剂中的溶解性增加。热失重分析表明,GO-1227的初始分解温度提高了约70℃。将GO-1227与聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯与苯乙烯的嵌段共聚物(PMMA-b-PS)凝胶聚电解质复合,制备了纳米复合凝胶聚合物电解质(NGPE),并用交流阻抗法测试其电性能,发现占聚电解质总质量2‰的GO-1227可以将其离子电导率提高8.6倍。     

还原氧化石墨烯/碳纳米管/Co_3O_4三元复合材料的制备与电化学性能

将低温水热反应和低温热处理相结合,制备了含还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)、碳纳米管(CNTs)和Co3O4的三元纳米复合材料RGO-CNTs-Co3O4;利用X射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜分析了合成产物的相组成和微观结构,分析了其形成过程;并利用电化学测试装置测定了其作为锂离子电池负极材料的电化学性能.结果表明,在合成反应过程中,氧化石墨烯被还原剂肼还原为石墨烯,同时在石墨烯和CNTs表面生成氢氧化钴;再经低温热处理得到RGO-CNTs-Co3O4三元复合材料.Co3O4纳米颗粒均匀分散在由RGO片层和CNTs组成的三维网络结构中;这种三维网络结构既有利于电子和离子的传输,又能够有效抑制Co3O4在脱嵌锂过程中因体积变化引起的结构破坏.总体而言,合成的新型三元复合材料具有高的比容量以及良好的循环性能与倍率性能.     

Transition Metal (Mn,Fe, Co,Ni)‐Doped Graphene Hybrids for Electrocatalysis

The development of electrocatalysts is crucial for renewable energy applications. Metal‐doped graphene hybrid materials have been explored for this purpose, however, with much focus on noble metals, which are limited by their low availability and high costs. Transition metals may serve as promising alternatives. Here, transition metal‐doped graphene hybrids were synthesized by a simple and scalable method. Metal‐doped graphite oxide precursors were thermally exfoliated in either hydrogen or nitrogen atmosphere; by changing exfoliation atmospheres from inert to reductive, we produced materials with different degrees of oxidation. Effects of the presence of metal nanoparticles and exfoliation atmosphere on the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of the hybrid materials were investigated using electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. Doping of graphene with transition metal nanoparticles of the 4th period significantly influenced the electrocatalysis of compounds important in energy production and storage applications, with hybrid materials exfoliated in nitrogen atmosphere displaying superior performance over those exfoliated in hydrogen atmosphere. Moreover, nickel‐doped graphene hybrids displayed outstanding electrocatalytic activities towards reduction of O₂ when compared to bare graphenes. These findings may be exploited in the research field of renewable energy.     

Adsorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on Graphene Oxides and Reduced Graphene Oxides

Graphene has attracted increasing attention in multidisciplinary studies because of its unique physical and chemical properties. Herein, the adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as naphthalene (NAP), anthracene (ANT), and pyrene (PYR), on reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) and graphene oxides (GOs) as a function of pH, humic acid (HA), and temperature were elucidated by means of a batch technique. For comparison, nonpolar and nonporous graphite were also employed in this study. The increasing of pH from 2 to 11 did not influence the adsorption of PAHs on rGOs, whereas the suppressed adsorption of NAP on rGOs was observed both in the presence of HA and under high‐temperature conditions. Adsorption isotherms of PAHs on rGOs were in accordance with the Polanyi–Dubinin–Ashtahhov (PDA) model, providing evidence that pore filling and flat surface adsorption were involved. The saturated adsorbed capacities (in mmol g^?1) of rGOs for PAHs calculated from the PDA model significantly decreased in the order of NAP>PYR>ANT, which was comparable to the results of theoretical calculations. The pore‐filling mechanism dominates the adsorption of NAP on rGOs, but the adsorption mechanisms of ANT and PYR on rGOs are flat surface adsorption.