title: Correlation between the microstructures of graphite oxides and their catalytic behaviors in air oxidation of benzyl alcohol.
abstract: A series of graphite oxide (GO) materials were obtained by thermal treatment of oxidized natural graphite powder at different temperatures (from 100 to 200 °C). The microstructure evolution (i.e., layer structure and surface functional groups) of the graphite oxide during the heating process is studied by various characterization means, including XRD, N2 adsorption, TG-DTA, in situ DRIFT, XPS, Raman, TEM and Boehm titration. The characterization results show that the structures of GO materials change gradually from multilayer sheets to a transparent ultrathin 2D structure of the carbon sheets. The concentration of surface COH and HOCO groups decrease significantly upon treating temperature increasing. Benzyl alcohol oxidation with air as oxidant source was carried out to detect the catalytic behaviors of different GO materials. The activities of GO materials decrease with the increase of treating temperatures. It shows that the structure properties, including ultrathin sheets and high specific surface area, are not crucial factors affecting the catalytic activity. The type and amount of surface oxygen-containing functional groups of GO materials tightly correlates with the catalytic performance. Carboxylic groups on the surface of GO should act as oxidative sites for benzyl alcohol and the reduced form could be reoxidized by molecular oxygen.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry of Jilin Province, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Longlong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry of Jilin Province, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Shujie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Yongcun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry of Jilin Province, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Mingjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry of Jilin Province, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Wenxiang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
authors.forename: Wenfu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry of Jilin Province, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China. Electronic address: lgang@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000388:Air; D019905:Benzyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D033362:Powder Diffraction; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite; D019905:Benzyl Alcohol; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Alcohol oxidation; Carbon; Graphite oxide; Microstructure; Surface functional group