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Scalable Syntheses of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide using Cascade Design Oxidation and Highly Basic Reduction Reactions
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Graphene oxide as an optimal candidate material for methane storage.
Rajiv K Chouhan1, Kanchan Ulman1, Shobhana Narasimhan1
1Theoretical Sciences Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore, India.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|August 3, 2015
Summary
Replacing graphene with graphene oxide significantly enhances methane adsorption by 50% for vehicular natural gas storage. This improved binding strength is crucial for developing viable on-board storage solutions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Computational Chemistry
Background:
- Methane storage in nanostructured carbons is limited by weak binding energies.
- Current materials do not meet the required targets for on-board vehicular natural gas storage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methods for enhancing methane adsorption on nanostructured carbons.
- To identify the mechanisms behind increased methane binding energy.
Main Methods:
- Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were employed.
- A series of model systems from graphene to graphene oxide were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Replacing graphene with graphene oxide increased methane adsorption energy by 50%.
- This enhancement achieves optimal binding strength for vehicular storage.
- Key contributions to binding include London dispersion and electrostatic (Debye) interactions.
- Geometric curvature, particularly from epoxy groups, significantly aids binding.
Conclusions:
- Graphene oxide presents a promising material for enhanced methane storage.
- Understanding the interaction mechanisms provides design principles for novel storage materials.
- The study demonstrates a viable pathway towards efficient on-board natural gas storage.
