UNRAVELLING THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF TAILORED FUNCTIONALIZED GRAPHENE OXIDE VIA AN IN-DEPTH CHARACTERIZATION APPROACH

The first appearance of graphite oxide can be traced back to almost 200 years ago; however, the interest in this nanomaterial has grown significantly only in the last few decades. In its exfoliated form, graphene oxide (GO), it is now considered a building block for the synthesis of hybrid materials. This is primarily due to three pivotal properties: high dispersibility in polar solvents, the potential for functionalization with both covalent and non-covalent approaches, and the possibility of its reduction to partially restore properties graphene-like properties. Graphene oxide is a 2D, non-stoichiometric, carbon-based nanomaterial characterized by alternating oxidized islands, graphitic networks, and adsorbed oxidized carbon nanoparticles[1]. The coexistence of these structural motifs and the possibility of reduction contribute to the versatile chemistry and outstanding properties of this nanomaterial that make GO attractive for several applications[2]. Given its complex structure and reactivity, an in-depth characterization of GO-based materials at each synthetic step is mandatory to enable an informed approach to their functionalization. In this work various functionalization pathways (e.g., amination with ethylenediamine and with \gamma-aminobutyric acid) and purification procedures (e.g., dialysis and centrifugation) will be presented and supplemented with a complete characterization at each stage. The analytical framework includes techniques such as XPS, solid-state NMR, cyclic voltammetry, UV-Vis, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, and AFM. This integrated analytical approach enabled a comprehensive understanding of structure–property relationships, paving the way for the rational design of GO-based materials with tailored properties for advanced materials science applications. Acknowledgements: This research was funded by Sapienza University of Rome with “Bando Ricerca Scientifica 2024 - Avvio alla Ricerca” [1] F. Amato, M. Fazi, L. Giaccari, S. Colecchia, G. Perini, V. Palmieri, M. Papi, P. Altimari, A. Motta, M. Giustini, R. Zanoni, A.G. Marrani, Nanotechnology 2025, 36, 185602 [2] S. Guo, S. Garaj, A. Bianco, C. Ménard-Moyon, Nat. Rev. Phys. 2022, 4, 247-262