Basic physical properties and potential application of graphene oxide fibers synthesized from rice husk

The synthesis method and correlation between compositional, vibrational, and electrical properties in graphene oxide fibers (GOF) are presented and discussed here, as well as a potential application through the development of a heater device based on GOF. The GOF samples were synthesized from rice husk (RH), via a thermal decomposition method, employing an automated pyrolysis system with a controlled nitrogen atmosphere, varying carbonization temperature (T_CA) from 773 to 1273 K. The compositional analysis shows peaks in the XPS spectrum associated with C1s and O1s, with presence of hydroxyl and epoxy bridges; the oxide concentration (OC) of samples varied from 0.21 to 0.28, influenced by T_CA. The GOF samples exhibit fiber morphology, vibrational characteristics which are typical of graphene oxide multilayers, and electrical behavior that scales with OC. The electrical response shows that OC decreases and increases electrical conductivity at the polycrystalline phase, possibly attributed to the desorption of some oxides and organic compounds. In addition, physical correlations between OC and its vibrational response showed that decreasing OC increases edge defect density and decreases crystal size as a result of thermal decomposition processes. The correlation between OC and physical properties suggests that by controlling the OC in GOF, it was possible to modify vibrational and electrical properties of great interest in fabrication of advanced electronics; consequently, we show a potential application of GOF samples by developing an electrically controlled heater device.