Nanosized graphane (C1H1.14)n by hydrogenation of carbon nanofibers by Birch reduction method

Abstract

Graphane, fully hydrogenated graphene with the composition (C₁H₁)_n, has been theoretically predicted but never experimentally realized. Graphane stands out of the variety of heteroatom modified graphene for its well defined structure. Here we show that by employing Birch reduction on graphite nanofibers, one can reach hydrogenation levels close to 100%. We name this material graphane or graphane-like since its composition is relatively close to ideal theoretical stoichiometry C₁H₁. We systematically study the effect of the size and structure of the starting material and conditions of the synthesis. The morphology and properties of the synthesized graphane-like material are strongly dependent on the structure of the starting material. The extremely highly hydrogenated nanographanes should find applications ranging from nanoelectronics to electrochemistry such as in supercapacitors or electrocatalysts.