Sorption of Polar Sorbents into GO Powders and Membranes

The comparative study of sorption of polar substances acetonitrile and water into powders and membranes (>10 μm thick) of modified Hummers (HGO) and Brodie (BGO) graphite oxides was performed using isopiestic method (IM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Additional sorption data were obtained for pyridine and 1-octanol. Sorption measurements were accompanied by conventional XRD and XPS control. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was additionally used to characterize ordering of the membranes. The impact on sorption of synthetic procedure (Brodie or Hummers), method of making membranes, chemical nature of the sorbent, and method of sorption was systematically examined. It was demonstrated that variations in synthetic procedures within both Hummers and Brodie methods did not lead to changes in the sorption properties of the corresponding powders. Sorption of acetonitrile and pyridine was reduced by approximately half when switching from powders to membranes at ambient temperature. DSC measurements at a lower temperature gave equal sorption of acetonitrile into HGO powder and membranes. Water has demonstrated unique sorption properties. Equal sorption of water was measured for HGO membranes and powders at T = 298 K and at T = 273 K. It was demonstrated that lowering the orientational alignment of the membranes led to the increase of sorption. In practice this could allow one to tune sorption/swelling and transport properties of the GO membranes directly by adjusting their internal ordering without the use of any composite materials.