Basic physical properties and potential application of graphene oxide fibers synthesized from rice husk

Abstract

Abstract The synthesis method and correlation between compositional, vibrational, and electrical properties in graphene oxide fibers (GOF) are presented and discussed here, and a potential application through the development of a heater device based on GOF. The GOF samples were synthesized from rice husk (RH), via a thermal decomposition method, employing an automated pyrolysis system with a controlled nitrogen atmosphere, varying carbonization temperature (TCA) from 773 to 1273 K. The compositional analysis shows peaks in XPS spectrum associated with C1s and O1s, with presence of hydroxyl and epoxy bridges; the oxide concentration (OC) of samples varied from 0.21 to 0.28, influenced by TCA. The GOF samples exhibits morphology of fibers, vibrational characteristics, typical of graphene oxide multilayers and electrical behavior that scale with OC. The electrical response shows that OC decreases and increases electrical conductivity at the polycrystalline phase, possibly attributed to the desorption of some oxides and organic compounds. Likewise, the physical correlations between OC and vibrational response, revealed that decreased OC and increases in boundary defects density and decreased crystal size, as a consequence of thermal decomposition processes. The correlation between OC and physical properties suggests that by controlling the OC in GOF, it was possible to modify vibrational and electrical properties of great interest in fabrication of advanced electronics; consequently, we show a potential application of GOF samples developing an electrically controlled heater device.