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Nano Research 2009, 2(3): 192-200 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-009-9017-8
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 08 March 2009

Facile, Noncovalent Decoration of Graphene Oxide Sheets with Nanocrystals

Show Author's Information Ganhua Lu1,  Shun Mao1,  Sungjin Park2,  Rodney S. Ruoff2,  Junhong Chen1( )
Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee3200 N. Cramer St.MilwaukeeWI53211USA
Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Texas Materials InstituteUniversity of Texas at Austin204 E. Dean KeetonAustinTX78712USA
Keywords:
Graphene oxide, hybrid nanostructures, silver nanocrystals, nanocrystal ripening
Cite this article:
Lu G, Mao S, Park S, et al. Facile, Noncovalent Decoration of Graphene Oxide Sheets with Nanocrystals. Nano Research, 2009, 2(3): 192-200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-009-9017-8
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Abstract Full text About this article

Facile dry decoration of graphene oxide sheets with aerosol Ag nanocrystals synthesized from an arc plasma source has been demonstrated using an electrostatic force directed assembly technique at room temperature. The Ag nanocrystal-graphene oxide hybrid structure was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area diffraction. The ripening of Ag nanocrystals on a graphene oxide sheet was studied by consecutive TEM imaging of the same region on a sample after heating in Ar at elevated temperatures of 100 ℃, 200 ℃, and 300 ℃. The average size of Ag nanocrystals increased and the number density decreased after the annealing process. In particular, migration and coalescence of Ag nanocrystals were observed at a temperature as low as 100 ℃, suggesting a van der Waals interaction between the Ag nanocrystal and the graphene oxide sheet. The availability of affordable graphene-nanocrystal structures and their fundamental properties will open up new opportunities for nanoscience and nanotechnology and accelerate their applications.


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About this article

Facile, Noncovalent Decoration of Graphene Oxide Sheets with Nanocrystals

Show Author's information Ganhua Lu1, Shun Mao1, Sungjin Park2, Rodney S. Ruoff2, Junhong Chen1( )
Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee3200 N. Cramer St.MilwaukeeWI53211USA
Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Texas Materials InstituteUniversity of Texas at Austin204 E. Dean KeetonAustinTX78712USA

Abstract

Facile dry decoration of graphene oxide sheets with aerosol Ag nanocrystals synthesized from an arc plasma source has been demonstrated using an electrostatic force directed assembly technique at room temperature. The Ag nanocrystal-graphene oxide hybrid structure was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area diffraction. The ripening of Ag nanocrystals on a graphene oxide sheet was studied by consecutive TEM imaging of the same region on a sample after heating in Ar at elevated temperatures of 100 ℃, 200 ℃, and 300 ℃. The average size of Ag nanocrystals increased and the number density decreased after the annealing process. In particular, migration and coalescence of Ag nanocrystals were observed at a temperature as low as 100 ℃, suggesting a van der Waals interaction between the Ag nanocrystal and the graphene oxide sheet. The availability of affordable graphene-nanocrystal structures and their fundamental properties will open up new opportunities for nanoscience and nanotechnology and accelerate their applications.

Keywords: Graphene oxide, hybrid nanostructures, silver nanocrystals, nanocrystal ripening

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Received: 20 November 2008
Revised: 23 December 2008
Accepted: 23 December 2008
Published: 08 March 2009
Issue date: March 2009

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© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag 2009

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation through grant CMMI-0609059. TEM analyses were performed in the HRTEM Laboratory at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The authors thank D. A. Dikin for providing samples of graphene oxide, M. Gajdardziska-Josifovska for providing TEM access, and D. Robertson for technical support with TEM analyses.

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