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Graphene oxide film as a template for the creation of three-dimensional lamellar metal oxides and reduced graphene oxide/metal oxide hybrids

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Abstract

Here we report a general method for the synthesis of layered inorganic nanocrystalline materials using graphene oxide (GO) film as the template. Free-standing three-dimensional (3D) lamellar ZnO, α-Fe2O3, and reduced GO/ZnO hybrid structures were synthesized as examples. Such layered structures could also be exfoliated to obtain 2D assembled nanocrystal microsheets. The abundant nucleation sites on the GO surface and the compact stacking of GO platelets made it possible to tightly control metal oxide crystal size (≈15 nm), alter preferential crystal growth direction, and assemble the nanocrystals into sheets, as confirmed by multiple characterization techniques.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Linda F. Nazar for providing access to the XRD instrument and Ms. Xinyun Wu for the help with TEM characterization. The research was supported by a Discovery grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and an infrastructure grant from Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry & Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

    Xiguang Gao, Mahyar Mazloumi, Louis Cheung & Xiaowu (Shirley) Tang

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  1. Xiguang Gao
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  2. Mahyar Mazloumi
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  3. Louis Cheung
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  4. Xiaowu (Shirley) Tang
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Correspondence to Xiaowu (Shirley) Tang.

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For supplementary material for this article, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2014.30

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Gao, X., Mazloumi, M., Cheung, L. et al. Graphene oxide film as a template for the creation of three-dimensional lamellar metal oxides and reduced graphene oxide/metal oxide hybrids. MRS Communications 4, 171–175 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2014.30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2014.30

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