Graphene oxide refers to a material made up of carbon atoms arranged in a thin layer, called graphene, combined with oxygen compounds. It is used in various scientific and technological applications, such as energy storage, electronics, and medicine, due to its unique properties like high strength and conductivity.
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Using an off - the - shelf camera flash, researchers turned an ordinary sheet
of graphene oxide into a material that bends when exposed to moisture.
For this purpose, work - function engineering of both graphene and
reduced graphene oxide electrodes was carried out.
Specifically, the researchers
used graphene oxide, a form of the material made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms.
A camera flash allowed the researchers to remove oxygen from, or reduce, just one side of a sheet
of graphene oxide.
Past attempts at making nanoscrolls started
with graphene oxide in its un-reduced or partially reduced states.
Stein and Amadei applied both techniques to solutions of
graphene oxide flakes and observed similar effects: The bubbles that were created in solution eventually collapsed, releasing energy that caused the flakes to spontaneously curl into scrolls.
The researchers also made a claw shape by sticking together eight 5 - by - 1 millimeter ribbons of flash - treated
graphene oxide in a star shape.
To make a moisture - driven crawler, the researchers cut flash -
treated graphene oxide into an insect shape with four legs.
The team fabricated nanoscrolls made
from graphene oxide flakes and was able to control the dimensions of each nanoscroll, using both low - and high - frequency ultrasonic techniques.
Researchers at Penn State and Shinshu University in Japan have developed a simple, scalable method of
making graphene oxide (GO) fibers that are strong, stretchable and can be easily scrolled into yarns with strengths approaching that of Kevlar.
The team's
graphene oxide coating improved the sulfur cathode's capacity to 800 mAh / g for 1000 cycles of charge / discharge, which is over 5 times the capacity of commercial cathodes.
«The development of smart materials such as moisture -
responsive graphene oxide is of great importance to automation and robotics,» said Yong - Lai Zhang of Jilin University, China, and leader of the research team.
University of Arkansas researchers have discovered a simple and scalable method for turning
graphene oxide into a non-flammable and paper - like graphene membrane that can be used in large - scale production.
To make all that possible, the engineers developed computer - controlled laser technology that selectively irradiates inkjet -
printed graphene oxide.
3D Printed Aerogel with
Graphene Oxide Based Nanocomposite for High Performance Lithium - ion Batteries
By using the probe of an atomic force microscope to trigger a local chemical reaction, Jeffrey Mativetsky, assistant professor of physics at Binghamton University, and PhD student Austin Faucett showed that electrically conductive features as small as four nanometers can be patterned into individual
graphene oxide sheets.
Super-strong graphene oxide (GO) sheets are useful for ultrathin, flexible nano - electronic devices, and display unique properties including photoluminescence and room temperature ferromagnetism.
People might purify irradiated water using a substance
called graphene oxide, and they could grow food using aquaponics systems that cycle nutrients between plants and fish.
It involved
dispersing graphene oxide in a solution, loading in a small amount of ruthenium and then freeze - drying the new solution and turning it into a foam.
However, this approach requires precision engineering of nano - features (in a detection chip), complex optical setups, novel nano - probes (such
as graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, and gold nanorods) or additional amplification steps such as aggregation of nanoparticles to achieve sensitive detection of biomarkers.
Stein says
graphene oxide nanoscrolls could also be used as ultralight chemical sensors, drug delivery vehicles, and hydrogen storage platforms, in addition to water filters.
Researchers at Rice University have proved that
adding graphene oxide to water - based drilling fluids can improve oil extraction by minimizing potential leakage.
The ability to modulate the physical properties of
graphene oxide within electronic components could have numerous applications in technology.
By
putting graphene oxide (an oxidized form of graphene) into contact with an oppositely charged polymer, the two components could form a stable composite layer, a process also known as «interfacial complexation.»
Their discovery was reported online in a recent issue of ACS Nano and titled «
Super-stretchable Graphene Oxide Macroscopic Fibers with Outstanding Knotability Fabricated by Dry Film Scrolling.»
The study provides new insight into the spatial resolution limits and mechanisms for a relatively new process for patterning conductive regions in
insulating graphene oxide.
As Jake Lanphere, a UC Riverside graduate student who co-authored the paper, which was published in the journal Environmental Engineering Science («Stability and Transport of
Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles in Groundwater and Surface Water»), explained to Nanoclast in an email interview: «Other studies have looked at ideal lab conditions that do not necessarily reflect the conditions one might find in aquatic environments.
This membrane acts as a kind of mould which, when wetted briefly in water and then hand - shaken (yes, hand - shaken) from side to side in ethanol, sets and releases multiple self -
rolled graphene oxide tubes — the basic building block of our micromotors.
Researchers at Rice University and Lomonosov Moscow State University discovered that tiny bits of
graphene oxide bond with radioactive contaminants, turning them into huge extractable clusters.
The wallpaper is made from fire - resistant materials
like graphene oxide and hydroxyapatite nanowires.
Source: «Fire Alarm Wallpaper Based on Fire - Resistant Hydroxapatite Nanowire Inorganic Paper and
Graphene Oxide Thermosensitive Sensor,» ACS Nano (2018 and «This Wired Wallpaper Could Turn Your Whole House Into a Fire Alarm,» Co.Design (March 30, 2018)
Dr Joshi has an international reputation in this area, having published many highly cited articles including one in the journal Science
on graphene oxide - based filtration in 2014 while working at the University of Manchester with Nobel Laureate Sir Andre Geim.
As part of their final project, Stein and Amadei teamed up to design nanoscrolls
from graphene oxide.
To make their textured surfaces, the researchers
used graphene oxide dispersed in a solution and dabbed onto a substrate made from a rubbery silicon material.
For example, the material's excellent biocompatibility could allow moisture -
responsive graphene oxide to be used in organ - on - a-chip systems that simulate the mechanics and physiological response of entire organs and are used for drug discovery and other biomedical research.
Amadei, as a member of Professor Chad Vecitis» lab at Harvard University, had been working
with graphene oxide for water purification applications, while Stein was experimenting with carbon nanotubes and other nanoscale architectures, as part of a group led by Brian Wardle, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.
The researchers discovered that heat -
treating graphene oxide and small amounts of cobalt salts in a gaseous environment forced individual cobalt atoms to bind to the material.
In the journal Optical Materials Express, from The Optical Society (OSA), the researchers reported that
graphene oxide sheets treated with brief exposure to bright light in the form of a camera flash exhibited reversible bending at angles from zero to 85 degrees in response to switching the relative humidity between 33 and 86 percent.