title: Evolution of order during vacuum-assisted self-assembly of graphene oxide paper and associated polymer nanocomposites.
abstract: Three mechanisms are proposed for the assembly of ordered, layered structures of graphene oxide, formed via the vacuum-assisted self-assembly of a dispersion of the two-dimensional nanosheets. These possible mechanisms for ordering at the filter-solution interface range from regular brick-and-mortar-like growth to complete disordered aggregation and compression. Through a series of experiments (thermal gravimetric analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction) a semi-ordered accumulation mechanism is identified as being dominant during paper fabrication. Additionally, a higher length-scale ordered structure (lamellae) is identified through the examination of water-swelled samples, indicating that further refinements are required to capture the complete formation mechanism. Identification of this mechanism and the resulting higher-order structure it produces provide insight into possibilities for creation of ordered graphene oxide-polymer nanocomposites, as well as the postfabrication modification of single-component graphene oxide papers.
authors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors: Karl W
authors: KW
authors: Putz
authors: Owen C
authors: OC
authors: Compton
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Segar
authors: Zhi
authors: Z
authors: An
authors: Sonbinh T
authors: ST
authors: Nguyen
authors: L Catherine
authors: LC
authors: Brinson