Graphene oxide (GO) is an emerging, two-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterial that has a great promise in a wide range of applications. Its properties in environmental fate and potential applications have been a major topic in nanomaterial chemistry in recent years. In this talk, we will present the environmental fate behavior of GO related to solar phototransformation with a focus on its surface structural chemistry alteration that significantly affects its photoreactivity and interaction with microorganisms. GO is phototransformed under solar light irradiation, resulting in reduced GO-like material with a strongly decreased surface functional groups that exerts a greater antibacterial effect. Given the strong photoreactivity, our study also explores the semiconducting property of GO as a stand-alone, metal-free photocatalyst toward photocatalytic production of H2O2 and reduction of a toxic heavy metal driven by visible light or sunlight. GO is a promising photocatalyst in comparison to typical metal oxides such as TiO2.

Role of surface structural property in graphene oxide's environmental phototransformation, antibacterial effect, and photocatalysis

256th National Meeting (2018)

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