Rapid method for the purification of graphene oxide

Abstract

A rapid and facile purification method for graphene oxide (GO) is important for its production above the gram scale. Such a method would allow for the development of GO's large-scale industrial applications. Out of several protocols in this study, including centrifugation, filtration, precipitation and decantation, filtration using a gas-press proved to be the most effective. Gas-press filtration using filter beds of Celite, perlite, glass wool, ceramic tape, or woven glass fibre allowed for adequate purification of 1 g of crude large-flake (∼30 μm flake diameter) GO in less than 60 min using a lab-scale set-up. The present technique could be easily scaled-up, it generates minimal waste, and can be tuned by changing the dimensions of the equipment, pressure, and filter bed. This would allow a user to obtain a higher work-up efficiency. The quickly purified product is called efficiently purified GO or EGO.