Direct measurement of the amount of dissociated hydrogen atoms attached on graphene

• CH bonds in graphene is produced by high H2 pressure.
• The amount of attached hydrogen atoms on graphene was measured using resonant frequency variation.
• 3.84% of carbon atoms of multilayer graphene participate in the formation of CH bonds.
• CH bonds in graphene were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

Recently, we reported n-type graphene can be achieved simply using H2 molecules. It was understood by the attachment of hydrogen atoms dissociated on the surface of graphene. However, the amount of attached hydrogen has not been yet investigated. Here, we show the possibility of the formation of CH bonds due to the H2 exposure theoretically and the mass of the attached hydrogen atoms on graphene experimentally. The amount of the attached hydrogen atoms has been measured by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). After exposure of a multilayer graphene (MLG) to 20 bar of H2 pressure at 353 K for 20 h, the resonance frequency (RF) of QCM decreased. It indicates that the mass of the MLG increases. On the basis of the RF variation, we concluded that the hydrogen atoms were bonded to 3.84% of carbon atoms in the MLG. In order to confirm the CH bonding of MLG, Raman spectroscopy was performed before and after exposure to H2 pressure. On exposure, the D peak developed and the peak for 2-D graphite in 2D band increased. The experimental results and theoretical calculation demonstrate that the H2 molecules on the surface of the graphene are dissociated and that some of dissociated H atoms are attached on graphene.