Towards the Synthesis of Graphene Azide from Graphene Oxide

In the last decades, organic azides haven proven to be very useful precursors in organic chemistry, for example in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (click-chemistry). Likewise, azides can be introduced into graphene oxide with an almost intact carbon framework, namely oxo-functionalized graphene (oxo-G₁), which is a highly oxidized graphene derivative and a powerful precursor for graphene that is suitable for electronic devices. The synthesis of a graphene derivative with exclusively azide groups (graphene azide) is however still a challenge. In comparison also hydrogenated graphene, called graphene or halogenated graphene remain challenging to synthesize. A route to graphene azide would be the desoxygenation of azide functionalized oxo-G₁. Here we show how treatment of azide functionalized oxo-G₁ with HCl enlarges the π-system and removes strongly adsorbed water and some oxo-functional groups. This development reflects one step towards graphene azide.