A novel fabrication of graphene by chemical reaction with a green reductant

In this study, the graphene was successfully prepared via the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) used thiourea dioxide as a new reductant. The graphene oxide after reduction with thiourea dioxide has been characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The factors affecting reduction degree of graphene were discussed in the process of reduction, such as reduction time, temperature and the amount of reducing agent. The result shows that reduction degree of graphene is mainly controlled by temperature and reaction time. Finally, it is founded that the stronger reduction capacity of thiourea dioxide was attributed to the synergistic effect of its hydrolysis products, such as HSO3− and catalyze the ring-opening reaction.