An attempt was made to investigate the effect of the preparation temperature on the electro-capacitive performance of polypyrrole (PPY)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites (PNCs). For this purpose, a series of PNCs were prepared at various temperatures by the cetyltrimeth-ylammonium bromide-assisted dilute-solution polymerization of pyrrole in presence of GO (wt%) ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 with ferric chloride as an oxidant. The formation of the PNCs was ascertained through Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction spectra, scanning electron microscopy and simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry. The electrocapacitive performance of the electrodes derived from sulphonated polysulphone-bound PNCs was evaluated through cyclic voltammetry with reference to Ag/AgCl at a scan rate (V/s) ranging from 0.2 and 0.001 in potassium hydroxide (1.0 M). The incorporation of GO into the PPY matrix at a reduced temperature has a pronounced effect on the electrocapacitive performance of PNCs. Under identical scan rates (0.001 V/s), PNCs prepared at 10 ± 1°C render improved specificconductivity (526.33 F/g) and power density (731.19 W/Kg) values compared to those prepared at 30 ± 1°C (217.69 F/g, 279.43 W/Kg). PNCs prepared at 10 ± 1°C rendered a capacitive retention rate of ~96% during the first500 cycles. This indicates the excellent cyclic stability of the PNCs prepared at reduced tempera-tures for supercapacitor applications.

본 연구에서는, 산화그래핀(GO) 및 산화철이 기능화된 산화그래핀(M-GO)을 용매인 dimethylformamide (DMF)에초음파분쇄법을 이용하여 완전히 분산시킨 후, 기질고분자인 polyacrylonitrile (PAN)에 첨가하여 전기방사함으로써, 나노섬유 형태의 복합분리막을 제조하였다. 제조된 나노섬유 분리막은 적층수를 변화시켜 기공크기를 조절하였다. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) 분석 결과로부터 약 500 nm 크기의 고른 직경분포를 가진 나노섬유 복합분리막이 제조되었음을 확인하였다. 또한, Raman spectroscopy 분석과 Energy Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) 분석 결과로부터 GO 및 M-GO가 분리막 내에 분산되어 있음을 확인하였다. 최종 나노섬유 복합분리막은 상용막(0.27 µm, 55%)과 유사한 기공특성(0.21~0.24 µm,40%)을 보여주었으며, 수투과도 측정결과 PAN 막에 비해 약 200% 향상된 성능을 보여주었다. 이러한 결과로부터, 전기방사법으로 제조된 나노섬유 복합분리막은 수처리용 분리막으로서 충분한 활용가능성이 있다고 판단된다.

In this work, nanocomposites of epoxy resin and chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were prepared by thermal curing process. X-ray diffractions confirmed the microstructural properties of RGO. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to evaluate the curing behaviors of RGO/epoxy nanocomposites with different RGO loading amounts. We investigated the effect of RGO loading amounts on the mechanical properties of the epoxy nanocomposites. It was found that the presence of RGO improved both flexural strength and modulus of the epoxy nanocomposites till the RGO loading reached 0.4 wt%, and then decreased. The optimum loading achieved about 24.5 and 25.7% improvements, respectively, compared to the neat-epoxy composites. The observed mechanical reinforcement might be an enhancement of mechanical interlocking between the epoxy matrix and RGO due to the unique planar structures.

We prepared ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/graphene oxide (GO) membranes by solution casting method. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that GOs were fully exfoliated in the EVOH/GO membrane. The glass transition temperatures of EVOH were increased by adding GOs into EVOH. The melting temperatures of EVOH/GO composites were decreased by adding GOs into EVOH, indicating that GOs may inhibit the crystallization of EVOH during non-isothermal crystallization. However, the equilibrium melting temperatures of EVOH were not changed by adding GOs into EVOH. The oxygen permeability of the EVOH/GO (0.3 wt%) film was reduced to 63% of that of pure EVOH film, with 84% light transmittance at 550 nm. The EVOH/GO membranes exhibited 100 times better (water vapor)/(oxygen) selectivity performance than pure EVOH membrane.

This paper reports the effect of adding reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as a conductive material to the composition of an electrode for capacitive deionization (CDI), a process to remove salt from water using ionic adsorption and desorption driven by external applied voltage. RGO can be synthesized in an inexpensive way by the reduction and exfoliation of GO, and removing the oxygen-containing groups and recovering a conjugated structure. GO powder can be obtained from the modification of Hummers method and reduced into RGO using a thermal method. The physical and electrochemical characteristics of RGO material were evaluated and its desalination performance was tested with a CDI unit cell with a potentiostat and conductivity meter, by varying the applied voltage and feed rate of the salt solution. The performance of RGO was compared to graphite as a conductive material in a CDI electrode. The result showed RGO can increase the capacitance, reduce the equivalent series resistance, and improve the electrosorption capacity of CDI electrode.

Graphene oxide has been synthesized by microwave-assisted exfoliation of graphite oxide prepared by modified Hummers method. Graphite was oxidized in a solution of H2O2 and KMnO4 at 65~80˚C, followed by 10 % H2O2 solution treatment at 80~90˚C. The graphite oxide was exfoliated under microwave irradiation of 1 kW and was reduced to graphene effectively by hydrazine hydrate (H4N2·H2O) treatment. The exfoliation of graphene oxide was significantly affected by the microwave irradiation on (heating)/off (cooling) period. An on/off period of 10 s/20 s resulted in much more effective exfoliation than that of 5 s/10 s with the same total treatment time of 10 min. This can be explained by the higher exfoliation temperature of 10 s/20 s. Repetition of the graphite oxidation and exfoliation processes also enhanced the exfoliation of graphene oxide. The thickness of the final graphene products was estimated to be several layers. The D band peaks of the Raman spectra of the final graphene products were quite low, suggesting a high crystal quality.

In this study, poly(amic acid) was prepared via a polycondensation reaction of 3,3'-dihydroxybenzidine and pyromellitic dianhydride in an N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution; reduced graphene oxide/polybenzoxazole (r-GO/PBO) composite films, which significantly increased the electrical conductivity, were successfully fabricated. GO was prepared from graphite using Brodie's method. The GO was used as nanofillers for the preparation of r-GO/PBO composites through an in situ polymerization. The addition of 50 wt% GO led to a significant increase in the electrical conductivity of the composite films by more than sixteen orders of magnitude compared with that of pure PBO films as a result of the electrical percolation networks in the r-GO during the thermal treatment at various temperatures within the films.

In this study, we present a facile method of fabricating graphene oxide (GO) filmson the surface of polyimide (PI) via layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of charged GO. The positively charged amino-phenyl functionalized GO (APGO) is alternatively complexed with the nega-tively charged GO through an electrostatic LBL assembly process. Furthermore, we investi-gated the water vapor transmission rate and oxygen transmission rate of the prepared (reduced GO [rGO]/rAPGO)10 deposited PI film(rGO/rAPGO/PI) and pure PI film.The water vapor transmission rate of the GO and APGO-coated PI composite filmwas increased due to the intrinsically hydrophilic property of the charged composite films.However, the oxygen trans-mission rate was decreased from 220 to 78 cm3/m2·day·atm, due to the barrier effect of the graphene filmson the PI surface. Since the proposed method allows for large-scale production of graphene films, it is considered to have potential for utiliation in various applications.

Nanocomposites comprised of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel process. The synthesized samples were studied by X-ray powder diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The results show that the MgO nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 70 nm, are decorated uniformly on the surface of the GOs. By controlling the concentration of the MgO precursors and reaction cycles, it was possible to control the loading density and the size of the resulting MgO particles. Because the MgO particles are robustly anchored on the GO structure, the MgO/GOs nanocomposites will have future applications in the fields of adsorption and chemical sensing.

Graphene oxide powders prepared by two different drying processes, freeze drying and spray drying, were studied to compare the effect of the drying method on the physical properties of graphene oxide powder. The graphene oxide dispersion was prepared from graphite by chemical delamination with the aid of sulfuric acid and permanganic acid, and the dispersion was further washed and re-dispersed in a mixed solvent of water and isopropyl alcohol. A freeze drying method can feasibly minimize damage to the sample, but it requires a long process time. In contrast, spray drying is able to remove a solvent in a relatively short time, though this process requires exposure to a high temperature for a rapid evaporation of the solvent. The powders prepared by freeze drying and spray drying were characterized and compared by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and by an elemental analysis. The graphene oxide powders showed similar chemical compositions; however, the morphologies of the powders differed in that the graphene oxide prepared by spray drying had a winkled morphology and a higher apparent density compared to the powder prepared by freeze drying. The graphene oxide powders were reduced at 900˚C in an atmosphere of N2. The effect of the drying process on the properties of the reduced graphene oxide was examined by SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy.

Cyclodextrin-graphene oxide film on the carbon nanotubes matrix is synthesized by a simple chemical method, and physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties of the composites are investigated. Capacitance is improved markedly up to 84 F/g with chemically reduced graphene oxide at the current density of 0.7 A/ g compared with 2.6 F/g of the previous composites having no graphene oxide. The new composites electrodes show more redox processes, originated from the graphene oxide, in the cycle voltammetry compared to the previous composites which had no graphene oxide, indicating enhancement of capacitances. Following improved energy density of the new composite makes it possible to be an electrode of the hybrid capacitors.

본 연구는 microfiltration (MF) 적용을 위한 PVdF/GO 하이브리드 나노섬유막(FG) 제조에 관한 것이다. 지지체인 PVdF (polyvinylidene difluoride) 나노섬유막은 N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAc)와 아세톤에 PVdF를 녹여 방사용액 제조 후 전기방사법을 이용하여 제조하였다. 본 연구에서 사용된 GO (grapheme oxide) sheets는 Hummer’s 방법에 따라 제조되었으며, PVdF 나노섬유 지지체 위에 에탄올에 분산시킨 GO용액을 분사함으로써, 최종적으로 PVdF/GO 하이브리드 나노섬유막(FG)을 제조하였다. FG막은 SEM, Raman, 접촉각, 기공특성분석장치(Porometer), 만능인장시험기(UTM)를 사용하여 조사하였고, 수투과도 분석은 제작된 셀(Dead-End Cell)을 이용하여 측정하였다. 접촉각 측정 결과로부터 제조된 FG막의 표면이 친수성으로 개질되었음을 확인할 수 있었으며, 수투과도값은 PVdF막에 비해 약 2.5배 향상된 것을 확인할 수 있었다.

In this study, reduced graphene oxide/polyimide (r-GO/PI) composite films, which showed significant enhancement in their electrical conductivity, were successfully fabricated. GO was prepared from graphite using a modified Hummers method. The GO was used as a nanofiller material for the preparation of r-GO/PI composites by in-situ polymerization. An addition of 20 wt% of GO led to a significant decrease in the volume resistivity of composite films by less than nine orders of magnitude compared to that of pure PI films due to the electrical percolation networks of reduced GO created during imidization within the films. A tensile test indicated that the Young's modulus of the r-GO/PI composite film containing 20 wt% GO increased drastically from 2.3 GPa to 4.4 GPa, which was an improvement of approximately 84% compared to that of pure PI film. In addition, the corresponding tensile strength was found to have decreased only by 12%, from 113 MPa to 99 MPa.

유러피언(Eu) 착물을 이용하여 산화 그래핀 시트와 비공유 결합방법을 이용하여 제조하였으며, 산화 그래핀(GOS)뿐만 아니라 혼합된 각각의 물질의 특성을 유러피언(Eu) 착물의 흡착을 확인하였다. 또한, 하이브리드 산화 그래핀(GOS)-유러피언(Eu) 착물의 최종생성물은 생물학적 labeling과 anti-counterfeiting 등 여러 실용적인 분야에 적용 가능한 밝은 적색의 발광을 방출하는 물질이다.

In this study, cobalt oxide (Co3O4)/graphene composites were synthesized through a simple chemical method at various calcination temperatures. We controlled the crystallinity, particle size and morphology of cobalt oxide on graphene materials by changing the annealing temperatures (200, 300, 400℃). The nanostructured Co3O4/graphene hybrid materials were studied to measure the electrochemical performance through cyclic voltammetry. The Co3O4/graphene sample obtained at 200℃ showed the highest capacitance of 396 Fg-1 at 5 mVs-1. The morphological structures of composites were also examined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Annealing Co3O4/graphene samples in air at different temperatures significantly changed the morphology of the composites. The flower-like cobalt oxides with higher crystallinity and larger particle size were generated on graphene according to the increase of calcination temperature. A TEM analysis of the composites at 200℃ revealed that nanoscale Co3O4 (~7 nm) particles were deposited on the surface of the graphene. The improved electrochemical performance was attributed to a combination effect of graphene and pseudocapacitive effect of Co3O4.

Mass production of graphene-based materials, which have high specific surface area, is of importance for industrial applications. Herein, we report on a facile approach to produce thermally modified graphene oxide (TMG) in large quantities. We performed this experiment with a hot plate under environments that have relatively low temperature and no using inert gas. TMG materials showed a high specific surface area (430 m2g-1). Successful reduction was confirmed by elemental analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetic analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The resulting materials might be useful for various applications such as in rechargeable batteries, as hydrogen storage materials, as nano-fillers in composites, in ultracapacitors, and in chemical/bio sensors.

The size and the physical properties of graphene oxide sheets were controlled by changing the oxidation temperature of graphite. Graphite oxide (GO) samples were prepared at different oxidation temperatures of 20℃, 27℃ and 35℃ using a modified Hummers' method. The carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio and the average size of the GO sheets varied according to the oxidation temperature: 1.26 and 12.4 μm at 20℃, 1.24 and 10.5 μm at 27℃, and 1.18 and 8.5 μm at 35℃. This indicates that the C/O ratio and the average size of the graphene oxide sheets respectively increase as the oxidation temperature decreases. Moreover, it was observed that the surface charge and optical properties of the graphene oxide sheets could be tuned by changing the temperature. This study demonstrates the tunability of the physical properties of graphene oxide sheets and shows that the properties depend on the functional groups generated during the oxidation process.

A novel strategy for the simultaneous reduction and functionalization of graphene oxide (G-O) was developed using polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAAH) as a multi-functional agent. The G-O functionalization by PAAH was carried out under basic conditions to catalyze the epoxide ring opening reaction of G-O with abundant amine groups of PAAH. We found that G-O was not only functionalized with PAAH but also reduced under the reaction condition. Moreover, the synthesized PAAH-functionalized G-O sheets were soluble in water and applicable to the synthesis of nanocomposites with gold nanoparticles.

In this study, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite films containing various content of GO were prepared using solution casting method. The effect of GO content on Young’s modulus and dispersion of GO in PHBV matrix was investigated. Also, the thermomechanical properties, oxygen transmission rates and hydrolytic degradation of PHBV/GO nanocomposite films were studied. The addition of GO into PHBV improves the Young’s modulus and decreases thermal expansion coefficient. The improvement can be mainly attributed to good dispersion of GO and interfacial interactions between PHBV and GO. Furthermore, PHBV/GO nanocomposite films show good oxygen barrier properties. PHBV/GO nanocomposites show lower hydrolytic degradation rates with increasing content of GO.