Boron/phosphorus doping for retarding the oxidation of reduced graphene oxide

B, N- and P, N-doped reduced graphene oxide (RGO) are prepared through high temperature annealing method using boric acid and phosphoric acid as the B and P sources, respectively. The synthesized RGO and dual-doped RGO are well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The heteroatoms are found to be introduced into the graphene structure. The low level of doping (approximately 1.10 at%) exhibits significant improvement in thermal oxidative stability of RGO. In comparison with neat RGO, the temperature at maximum weight loss rate of B-RGO and P-RGO increase by as much as 52 °C and 130 °C, respectively. The mechanism for retarding RGO oxidation by B/P doping is clearly proposed. More stable bond configurations are formed in the B/P-doped RGO. The doped B and P atoms reduce the reactivity of carbon active sites and inhibit the carbon gasification. This work will provide an understanding of thermal oxidative stability of heteroatoms-doped RGO, and offer a strategy for fabricating graphene with elevated temperature applications.