Increased use of graphene-based nanomaterials in a range of emerging applications is driving efforts to understand their chemistry under environmental conditions and their potential environmental impacts. In a model aquatic environmental toxicity study with zebrafish embryos and UV light exposure, graphene oxide nanomaterials induce a variety of toxic defects such as organ pathology and malformations. To complement these studies of effects on zebrafish development, we have investigated how the structure and chemical composition of graphene oxide aqueous suspensions change when illuminated with UV light. Analysis by atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows an order-of-magnitude reduction in average nanosheet size following UV-light treatment compared to dark controls. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates that graphene oxide is oxidized upon exposure to UV light. Quantitative analysis of the C(1s) peaks with different chemical shifts shows that the UV-treated graphene oxide has about a 10% increase in the amount of oxidized carbon present. AFM and XPS analysis indicate that graphene oxide sheets treated with UV light are reduced in size and oxidized, likely along additional edge length as the sheets decrease in size. This chemical analysis of graphene oxide offers insight into environmentally induced chemical transformations of graphene oxide and the relationship between those transformations and environmental toxicity. Figure 1. <img src='https://acs-archive-assets2.s3.amazonaws.com/241nm/uploads/68853_indo.jpg' alt='' />

Chemical analysis of graphene oxide nanomaterials demonstrating toxicity in zebrafish development

248th National Meeting (2014)

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