Synthesis of graphite oxide by electrochemical oxidation in aqueous perchloric acid

In this research a graphite oxide (GO) was synthesized by electrochemical oxidation of natural graphite in aqueous solution of perchloric acid. The process of anodic oxidation of graphite was performed by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) from the rest potential of electrode to 1.4 V. In consequence of the electrochemical treatment graphite was fully transformed yielding GO. Formation of GO was proved by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy analysis. The synthesis product was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).