Covalent modification and exfoliation of graphene oxide using ferrocene

Abstract

Large scale preparation of single-layer graphene and graphene oxide is of great importance due to their potential applications. We report a simple room temperature method for the exfoliation of graphene oxide using covalent modification of graphene oxide with ferrocene to obtain single-layer graphene oxide sheets. The samples were characterized by FESEM, HRTEM, AFM, EDAX, FT-IR, Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies. HRTEM micrograph of the covalently modified graphene oxide showed increased interlayer spacing of ∼2.4 nm due to ferrocene intercalation. The presence of single-layer graphene oxide sheets were confirmed by AFM studies. The covalently modified ferrocene–graphene oxide composite showed interesting magnetic behavior.