Insight into the effect of graphite grain sizes on the morphology, structure and electrical properties of reduced graphene oxide

Abstract One of the most promising ways of obtaining graphene on a large scale is a two-stage oxidation-reduction process. It is worth mentioning, however, that the quality, structure and properties of the obtained graphene are highly dependent not only on conditions of the oxidation and reduction process but also the type of graphite from which the graphene (rGO) is obtained. This paper presents the influence of graphite grain size on the morphology, structure, and electrical properties of reduced graphene oxide. The tested materials were obtained in the process of low-temperature thermal reduction by micro-explosion. The research clearly shows that, although the type of graphite does not directly impact the reduction process itself, it nevertheless significantly affects parameters such as the degree of structure defect, size of crystallites or oxygen content in the sample. The work also proved that the smaller size of graphite grains facilitates the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups located in the plane of the layer. The differences in morphology and structure result in different electrical properties of the reduced graphene oxides obtained from different graphites.