Green reduction of graphene oxide induced by combined basic amino acids and ultrasound cavitation Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • Producing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) from oxidizing agents is an efficient, low-cost, and mass-production method. However, conventional reducing agents are highly toxic and harmful to the environment. Our work proposes an eco-friendly and facile method for the synthesis of rGO from graphene oxide (GO) using green reducing agents, such as basic amino acids (AAbs), including L-arginine (Arg), L-lysine (Lys), and L-histidine (His), induced by ultrasound cavitation (US). The chemical characterization, conducted through FTIR and XPS, revealed the disappearance of the signals corresponding to the oxygenated groups of GO and the formation of sp2 carbon. Additionally, the XPS technique demonstrated an increase in the C/O ratio, indicating the formation of rGO. The UV¿Vis spectroscopy indicated the energetic transitions involved in the rGO; XRD was employed to ascertain the structural characteristics of the obtained materials, including the crystal size, number of layers, and degree of reduction. TGA was utilized to evaluate the thermal stability, focusing on the second loss (T2), which corresponds to the oxygenated groups. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) determined the electrochemically active surface area. All the catheterizations exhibited superior outcomes when the green reducing agent was combined with the ultrasound cavitation. The use of Lys as the reducing agent was highlighted, indicating that the combination of techniques reduced the time required to reduce GO, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the methods. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.

publication date

  • March 1, 2025