In situ synthesis of Cu2O and Cu nanoparticles during the thermal reduction of copper foil-supported graphene oxide

摘要

This work describes a novel method to prepare reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets decorated with copper oxide and copper nanoparticles, by annealing copper foil-supported graphene oxide (GO) under an Ar atmosphere. The GO reduction level, the predominant Cu or Cu2O compound, and the particle size strongly depend on the process temperature. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that rGO-Cu2O and rGO-Cu nanocomposites developed on the Cu foil surface at the annealing temperatures of 200-600 and 800-1000 degrees C range, respectively. Raman spectroscopy corroborates the effective GO reduction.