Intercalation and stitching of graphite oxide with diaminoalkanes

Margarita Herrera-Alonso, Ahmed A. Abdala, Michael J. McAllister, Ilhan A. Aksay, Robert K. Prud'homme*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

239 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The intercalation reaction of graphite oxide with diaminoalkanes, with the general formula H 2N(CH 2) nNH 2 (n = 4-10), was studied as a method for synthesizing pillared graphite with tailored interlayer spacing. Interlayer spacings from 0.8 to 1.0 nm were tailored by varying the size of the intercalant from (CH 2) 4 to (CH 2) 10. X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were used to confirm intercalation, and the frequency of the CH 2 stretch confirmed that the intercalants are in a disordered state, with an important contribution from the gauche conformer. Sequential intercalation of diaminoalkanes followed by dodecylamine demonstrated the inability of these "stitched" systems to undergo expansion along the c-direction, indicative of cross-linking. Finally, the reaction of graphite oxide with diaminoalkanes under reflux and for extended periods (>72 h) resulted in the chemical reduction of the graphite oxide to a disordered graphitic structure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10644-10649
Number of pages6
JournalLangmuir
Volume23
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Oct 2007
Externally publishedYes

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