Studying graphene oxide photoreduction with dynamic transmission electron microscopy

该项目旨在由INRS-EMT的Kenneth Beyerlein教授与法国斯特拉斯堡大学的Banhart教授合作，揭示利用光将氧化石墨烯转化为石墨烯的过程。石墨烯是一种特殊的单原子碳层，在包括能源和医药在内的许多行业都有应用。对这种材料日益增长的需求要求开发更好的方法来实现工业规模的生产。氧化石墨烯可以从石墨中大量生产，与石墨烯相似，但含有会降低其性能的氧化合物。高强度激光已经被证明可以还原氧化石墨烯，去除这些不需要的氧化合物，但是关于转化机制的问题仍然存在，这限制了产品的质量。该建议将允许独特的测量，以跟踪实时还原过程使用新的动态透射电子显微镜仪器。要求提供资金，以便在斯特拉斯堡仪器上进行测量，该仪器特别适合跟踪有关的化学变化。该项目专注于影响加拿大制造业的一个重要问题，旨在建立一个国际科学家网络，开发尖端的时间分辨电子显微镜方法和仪器。

This project aims to form a collaboration between Prof. Kenneth Beyerlein of INRS-EMT with Prof. Banhart of University of Strasbourg, France, to uncover the transformation of graphene oxide into graphene using light. Graphene is a special single atomic layer of carbon that has found application in a lot of industries including energy and medicine. The increasing demand for this material requires the development of better ways to manufacture it on an industrial scale. Graphene oxide can be produced in large quantities from graphite and is similar to graphene, but contains oxygen compounds that degrade its properties. High-intensity laser light has been shown to reduce graphene oxide, removing these undesired oxygen compounds, however questions remain about the transformation mechanism that limits the quality of the product. This proposal will allow for unique measurements to track the reduction process in real-time using novel dynamic transmission electron microscope instruments. Funds are requested to allow for measurements to be made on the Strasbourg instrument, which is uniquely suited to follow the associated chemical changes. This project is focused on an important problem impacting Canadian manufacturing, and is intended to initiate an international network of scientists developing cutting-edge time-resolved electron microscopy methods and instrumentation.