Comparative multifaceted characterization of graphene oxide reduction by green reductants with distinct chemical mechanisms
Chemical Papers, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1007/s11696-026-05672-x
- Journal Name: Chemical Papers
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Chemical Abstracts Core, Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Keywords: Graphene oxide, Green reduction, Multifaceted characterization, Reduced graphene oxide
- Süleyman Demirel University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Graphene oxide (GO) was reduced with ascorbic acid (AA), sodium citrate (SC), caffeic acid (CA), potassium carbonate (PC), and formic acid (FA) under standardized conditions. Samples were characterized by FTIR, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and SEM. XPS showed AA achieved highest C/O ratio (4.593), followed by SC (4.302). However, XPS and FTIR revealed AA removed hydroxyl and carbonyl groups but not epoxy/alkoxy C–O–C bonds. In contrast, SC achieved highest sp² carbon content (74.3%) by removing 40.7% of C–O–C moieties. Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that SC and AA exhibited divergent trends in defect evolution, with AA showing expansion of in-plane sp² domains while SC maintained moderate disorder levels. XRD indicated FA produced amorphous rGO, whereas SC and AA showed most developed crystalline structures. PC yielded smallest crystallite size and highest disorder. SEM showed SC-rGO had largest sheet surfaces and lowest agglomeration, while AA-rGO formed curled aggregates. Overall reduction efficacy: SC ≈ AA > CA > PC > > FA. Oxygen removal and sp² network reconstruction are complementary yet independent, highlighting need for multidimensional characterization to evaluate green reductant performance.