The effect of the thermal reduction temperature on the structure and sorption capacity of reduced graphene oxide materials

The influence of reduction temperatures on the structure and the sorption capacity of thermally reduced graphene (TRGO) has been investigated systematically. A set of TRGO materials were prepared by thermal treatment of parent graphene oxide (GO) at five temperatures (T = 200, 300, 500, 700, and 900 °C). Investigations of these materials by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy methods have shown that both the structure and the residual oxygen functional groups on the TRGO surface can be controlled by varying the temperature of the thermal treatment. The data on the sorption and desorption of 4He, H2, N2, Ne and Kr gases in the temperature interval T = 2-290 K clearly demonstrate that the sorption capacity of TRGO is closely related to the structural changes induced by the treatment temperatures. It is important that the sorption capacities of TRGOs treated at 300 °C and at 900 °C significantly increase for all the gases used. The prominent increase in the sorption capacity at 300 °C is attributed to the structural disorder and liberation of the pores caused by the removal of intercalated water and labile oxygen functional groups (oFGs) favored at this temperature. At 900 °C the sorption capacity increases due to the generation of new defects on the TRGO surface, which provide additional access to the internal space between the folds and sheets of the TRGO structure. By tailoring the structural properties we emphasize the potential of TRGO as a highly efficient sorbent.