Sharif Digital Repository

Graphene nanoplatelets with different oxidation degrees, from low polar few-layer graphene (FLG) to high polar graphene oxide (GO) in the same current and concentration of the oxidizing agent in low concentrated electrolytes ((NH4)2SO4, Sodium Do-decyl Sulfate (SDS), and HNO3) are prepared through a one-step and cost-effective electrochemical synthesis route to find the effect of electrolyte on the surface polarity of powders. In order to use a wide variety of electrolytes, basic, neutral, and acidic electrolytes in a concentration as low as 0.2 M are used. Exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets without any further process are obtained to simplify and accelerate the synthesis process. Several... 

Epoxy-clay nanocomposites were prepared using silane modified montmorillonite. The clay was first purified using a 1-inch hydrocyclon apparatus. The purified clay was modified with various amounts of (γ)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as a modifier. The synthesized organoclay was mixed and swollen by a mixture of epoxy resin and stoichiometric amount of curing agent at different temperature, mixing time and agitation. Finally, the compounds were cured in an oven at 90 °C for 2 h. The nanostructure materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the impurities and large particles (greater than 5 microns) are... 

A density functional theory (DFT) study of graphene synthesis from graphite oxidation and exfoliation is presented. The calculated DFT results for O adsorption predict CO as a most stable bond on the graphene oxide (GO) sheet. The obtained exfoliation energy for the graphene and the GO are 143 and ∼70 mJ/m2 that verify easier exfoliation of the graphite oxide compared with the graphite. Furthermore, the DFT results show that for decreasing the exfoliation energy of the GO at least two layers of the graphite should be oxidized during the oxidation process  

Asian red ginseng was used for green reduction of chemically exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) into reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The reduction level and electrical conductivity of the ginseng-rGO sheets were comparable to those of hydrazine-rGO ones. Reduction by ginseng resulted in repairing the sp 2 graphitic structure of the rGO, while hydrazine-rGO showed more defects and/or smaller aromatic domains. The ginseng-rGO sheets presented a better stability against aggregation than the hydrazine-rGO ones in an aqueous suspension. Whilst the hydrophobic hydrazine-rGO films exhibited no toxicity against human neural stem cells (hNSCs), the hydrophilic GO and ginseng-rGO films (as more... 

Polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCNs) have received intensive attention in recent years because of their wide domain of applications. The present report provides an approach to calculate the thickness of nanometric interphase region in exfoliated PCNs based on the information about their macroscopic modulus and their nanoclay content. First, the concept of interphase region in PCNs is explained with an “algae explanation”. Then, a series of parametric finite element simulations together with analytical equations are employed to derive an explicit relationship between the interphase thickness and the PCN macroscopic modulus. The obtained analytical model considers the structural impact of the... 

In this study, we have experimentally investigated the electrical properties of graphene and its derivatives (Exfoliated graphene, CVD synthesized graphene, graphene oxide and hydrogenated graphene oxide) under uniaxial strain. We have used gauge factor as a common representation of the sensitivity of the strain sensors and found that the hydrogenated graphene oxide shows significantly higher responsivity comparing to other samples under study. Reproducibility, reliability and lack of hysteresis in the responses of the graphene based samples make them a good candidate to be used in the strain sensors. © 2018  

Active edge sites of MoS2 nanosheets exhibit promising futures for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), comparable with remarkable performances of highly cost platinum. However, 3D structures of MoS2 suffer from a lack of high mobility and unexposed active sites which lower the electrocatalytic activity. In this study, we show that there is a balance between increasing the active sites on the one hand and managing the charge transfer to facilitate the reaction on the other hand, and achieving this balance increases the efficiency of the electrocatalyst tremendously. For this purpose, we directly attached exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets onto carbon cloth (CC) substrate as a 3D network of conductive... 

Graphene nanoplatelets with lateral dimensions of ∼50-200 nm and thicknesses <2 nm were utilized for the extraction of nucleic acids (NAs) from eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The graphene nanoplatelets (both chemically exfoliated graphene oxide nanoplatelets and hydrazine-reduced graphene oxide nanoplatelets) successfully extracted plasmid DNA (pDNA) from Escherichia coli bacteria, comparable to a conventional phenol-chloroform (PC) method. Furthermore, it was found that the yield of graphene nanoplatelets in genomic DNA (gDNA) and RNA extractions from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) was also comparable to the yield of the conventional methods. The effects of the graphene nanoplatelets on... 

In this research, a novel graphene-supported catalyst was prepared through which, a simultaneous chemical exfoliation of graphite and MoS2 powder performed preparing a new composite species and evaluated for the hydrodesulfurization reaction of naphtha and no sulfidation pretreatment was performed upon the catalyst. Also, the influences of the operating parameters such as temperature, and liquid hourly space velocity on HDS conversion evaluated. (Chemical Equation Presented)  

A remote controllable working graphite nanostructured swimmer based on a graphene jet nanomotor has been demonstrated for the first time. Graphite particles with pyramidal-like morphologies were fabricated by the creation of suitable defects in wide high-purity graphite flakes followed by a severe sonication. The particles were able to be self-exfoliated in water after Na intercalation between the graphene constituents. The self-exfoliation resulted in jet ejection of graphene flakes from the end of the swimmers (with speeds as high as ∼7000 m/s), producing a driving force (at least ∼0.7 L (pN) where L (μm) is swimmer size) and consequently the motion of the swimmer (with average speed of... 

Demand for more efficient energy storage devices stimulates efforts to search and develop new materials and composites with promising properties. In this regard, composite materials, including carbonaceous materials and metal oxides have attracted a great attention due to better electrochemical performance as compared to their single material analogues. For the first time, herein, we report a new and simple procedure for preparing porous highly oriented pyrolytic graphite/nickel hydroxide composite (P-HOPG/Ni(OH)2) via a fast and simple two-step electrochemical method including potentiostatic routes. In the first step, a low anodic potential (2 V) was applied to pristine HOPG in 0.5 M H2SO4... 

This work deals with the preparation of epoxy-clay nanocomposites. The results show that the mechanical properties of nanocomposites depend on their compatibility, the epoxy resin used and the purity of the nanoclay. The used bentonite was purified and the effects of the organoclay synthesis and various additives on its characteristics were evaluated. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the microstructure and the phase composition of the nanoclay. The XRD results revealed that when the modifier addition was increased from 10wt.% to 40 wt.%, the interlayer spacing of the nanoclay increased from 12.43 Å being... 

Tungsten oxide thin films (deposited by thermal evaporation or sol gel method) were used for photocatalytic reduction of graphene oxide (GO) platelets (synthesized through a chemical exfoliation method) on surface of the films under UV or visible light of the environment, in the absence of any aqueous ambient at room temperature. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was employed to characterize surface morphology of the GO sheets and the tungsten oxide films. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), chemical state of the tungsten oxide films and the photocatalytic reduction of the GO platelets were quantitatively investigated. The better performance of the sol-gel tungsten... 

Two-dimensional boron nitride quantum dots (2D BNQDs) with excellent chemical stability, high photoluminescence efficiency, and low toxicity are a new class of advanced materials for biosensing and bioimaging applications. To overcome the current challenge about the lack of facile, scalable, and reproducible synthesis approach of BNQDs, we introduce a green and facile approach based on mechanochemical exfoliation of bulk h-BN particles in ethanol. Few-layered hydroxylated-functionalized QDs with a thickness of 1-2 nm and a lateral dimension of 2-6 nm have been prepared. The synthesized nanocrystals exhibit a strong fluorescence emission at 407 and 425 nm with a quantum efficiency of ∼6.2%.... 

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is promising as adsorbent for water remediation as its chemical structure allows a variety of mechanisms to interact with wastewater pollutants. However, several issues, such as low specific surface area and insufficient dispersibility in water, have to be tackled to achieve a competitive performance in such use. Previous attempts to improve the features of g-C3N4as an adsorbent have relied on carbon doping and exfoliation in the solid phase by thermal expansion. Here, we demonstrate that exfoliation in the liquid phase by a combination of oxidation and sonication allows preparing g–C3N4–based materials with improved dispersibility in water, increased... 

A study was conducted to report an observation on the effect of nanoclay fillers on the α-relaxation in an epoxy resin. The observation provided useful facts about glass transition processes in nanoclay-filled epoxy composites. The investigation involved the synthesis of intercalated-exfoliated clay-epoxy compounds, by swelling an organophilic montmorillonite in an aromatic epoxy resin and polymerization. The epoxy resin used in the study was a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), EPON 828, with an equivalent weight of 184-190 g/eq from Hexion Specialty Chemicals. The epoxy resin was cured with piperidine, obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. Nanomer® 1.30E. An octadecyl amine treated...