Graphite Oxide and Graphene Nanoribbons Reduction with Hydrogen Iodide

It is shown that both graphite oxide (GO) and oxidized graphene nanoribbons (OGN) can be safely reduced by using hydrogen iodide (hydroiodic acid). FT-IR spectroscopy and TGA-DTG were used to show that HI 67% is able to lead to a complete reduction of GO while HI 57% is less effective. In terms of FT-IR spectroscopy and thermal analysis, the HI-reduced GO is almost identical to the N2H4-reduced GO. Hydrogen iodide 57% is in any case effective in reducing OGN. Since hydrazine is extremely toxic and explosive when anhydrous, it is suggested to use HI (preferably at 67% concentration) as alternative, safe and effective reducing agent.