Birch-Type Hydrogenation of Few-Layer Graphenes: Products and Mechanistic Implications
Xu Zhang1, Yuan Huang1, Shanshan Chen2
1Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Few-layer graphenes, supported on Si with a superficial oxide layer, were subjected to a Birch-type reduction using Li and H2O as the electron and proton donors, respectively. The extent of hydrogenation for bilayer graphene was estimated at 1.6-24.1% according to Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic data. While single-layer graphene reacts uniformly, few-layer graphenes were hydrogenated inward from the edges and/or defects. The role of these reactive sites was reflected in the inertness of pristine few-layer graphenes whose edges were sealed. Hydrogenation of labeled bilayer (12C/13C) and trilayer (12C/13C/12C) graphenes afforded products whose sheets were hydrogenated to the same extent, implicating passage of reagents between the graphene layers and equal decoration of each graphene face. The reduction of few-layer graphenes introduces strain, allows tuning of optical transmission and fluorescence, and opens synthetic routes to long sought-after films containing sp3-hybridized carbon.
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