Structural changes in graphene oxide thin film by electron-beam irradiation

Although we have a whole class of 2D materials, graphene has drawn much attention for its excellent electronic, optical, thermal and mechanical properties. Recent researches have shown its large scale production by the reduction of graphene oxide either thermally, chemically or electrochemically. Although the structure of graphene oxide is inhomogeneous and hence complicated due to the presence of organic moieties e.g. epoxy, carboxylic acid, hydroxyl groups etc., its properties can be tuned by reduction according to desired application. The aim of this work is to synthesize continuous thin film of graphene oxide using commercially available graphene oxide solution and to study its reduction by 25 keV electron beam irradiation at fluences varying from 2 × 1011 to 2 × 1013 e−/cm2. Our studies using X-ray diffraction, Raman microscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy showed that electron-beam irradiation is an effective tool for reduction of graphene oxide and for tuning its band gap.