Thermal reduction of graphite oxide (GO) is considered as a prospective method for the preparation of high-performance graphene-based materials. However, this method has certain limitations, and the major is that this exothermic process is difficult to control. In this research, we focused on the kinetic studies of the reduction of graphite oxide using non-isothermal differential calorimetry (DSC) method. Six GO nanocomposites with dyes were tested to study the shift in kinetic parameters. The apparent reaction order is determined to be ca 0.7 for the thermal decomposition of pure GO, while in the presence of dye molecules it increases sometimes reaching a value of 2.0 for higher dye concentrations. Decisively, the thermal decomposition of pure GO can be presented as an intermediate between a zero- and first-order reaction, while the introduction of dye molecules turns a certain part of the energy consumption via the bimolecular pathway. Our research revealed that the process of GO thermal decomposition can be operated and properties of the final product (reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and its derivatives) can be adjusted more precisely using additive molecules, which interact with GO sheets.

    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Experimental section
        2.1 Preparation of GO and GO-dye nanocomposite samples
        2.2 DTG and DSC kinetic measurements
        2.3 Characterization
    3 Results and discussion
        3.1 Thermokinetic study of reduction of GO and GO-dye nanocomposites
        3.2 Structural characterization
    4 Conclusions
    Acknowledgements 
    References

• Jurgis Barkauskas(Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University)
• Justina Gaidukevič(Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University)
• Gediminas Niaura(Center for Physical Sciences and Technology)