Low Temperature Reduction of Graphene Oxide Using Hot-plate for Nanocomposites Applications

A green, easy to reproduce method to obtain thermally reduced graphene oxide (GO) is described. The only requirement is a heating source, like a hot plate, that can reach ~225 °C without any special setup requirements. Upon addition of graphene oxide, effective reduction could be achieved within 10 s. Starting flake size affects the yield of graphene, final structure and composition. A detailed characterization of the produced graphene using thermal analysis, spectroscopic methods, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy is presented. Application of the produced graphene as a filler to epoxy resin for mechanical reinforcement is also reported. Smaller flakes (D50 = 5.7 µm) showed improved ultimate tensile strength, fracture strain and plane strain fracture toughness compared to larger flakes (D50 = 47.9 µm) that showed negative effect. Both flake sizes showed a negligible effect on Young's modulus.