Synthesis of graphene platelets by chemical and electrochemical route

Abstract Graphene platelets were synthesized from graphene oxide by chemical and electrochemical route. Under the chemical method, sodium borohydride and hydrazine chloride were used as reductants to produce graphene. In this paper, a novel and cost effective electrochemical method, which can simplify the process of reduction on a larger scale, is demonstrated. The electrochemical method proposed in this paper produces graphene in powder form with good yield. The atomic force microscopic images confirmed that the graphene samples prepared by all the routes have multilayers of graphene. The electrochemical process provided a new route to make relatively larger area graphene sheets, which will have interest for further patterning applications. Attempt was made to quantify the quantum of reduction using cyclic voltammetry and choronopotentiometry techniques on reduced graphene samples. As a measure in reading the specific capacitance values, a maximum specific capacitance value of 265.3 F/g was obtained in sodium borohydride reduced graphene oxide.