Review—Progress of Research on the Preparation of Graphene Oxide via Electrochemical Approaches

Graphene oxide (GO), a derivative of graphene, has attracted widespread attention due to its easy functionalization and excellent water solubility. Therefore, a method for efficiently producing GO shoule be developed. Although the traditional chemical oxidation method is broadly employed for GO synthesis, it entails problems, such as long time-consuming, explosive danger and easy to pollute the environmental. Recent research on using electrochemical methods for GO synthesis has achieved a breakthrough, that is, the realization of pollution-free, safe and efficient large-scale preparation of high-quality GO within a few hours. This article introduces the principle of electrochemical GO synthesis and summarizes the progress of research on GO preparation via two-electrode, three-electrode and electrolyte exfoliation with focalize on product quality and quantity. The challenges in high-quality electrochemical GO production and future research directions are also presented.