Macroscopic multifunctional graphene-based hydrogels and aerogels by a metal ion induced self-assembly process.
We report a one-step fabrication of macroscopic multifunctional graphene-based hydrogels with robust interconnected networks under the synergistic effects of the reduction of graphene oxide sheets by ferrous ions and in situ simultaneous deposition of nanoparticles on graphene sheets. The functional components, such as α-FeOOH nanorods and magnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles, can be easily incorporated with graphene sheets to assemble macroscopic graphene monoliths just by control of pH value under mild conditions. Such functional graphene-based hydrogels exhibit excellent capability for removal of pollutants and, thus, could be used as promising adsorbents for water purification. The method presented here is proved to be versatile to induce macroscopic assembly of reduced graphene sheets with other functional metal oxides and thus to access a variety of graphene-based multifunctional nanocomposites in the form of macroscopic hydrogels or aerogels.
Division of Nanomaterials and Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
Huai-Ping
HP
Cong
Xiao-Chen
XC
Ren
Ping
P
Wang
Shu-Hong
SH
Yu