Graphene Oxide Membranes with Strong Stability in Aqueous Solutions and Controllable Lamellar Spacing

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes become emerging efficient filters for molecular or ionic separation due to their well-defined two-dimensional nanochannels formed by closely spaced GO sheets and tunable physicochemical properties. The stability of GO membranes in aqueous solutions is a prerequisite for their applications. Here we show a novel and easy strategy for fabricating GO membranes with strong stability in aqueous solutions and controllable lamellar spacing by simply doping with partially reduced graphene oxide (prGO) sheets. With our prGO-doping strategy, the interlayer stabilizing force in GO membranes is enhanced due to the weakened repulsive hydration and enhanced π-π attraction between GO sheets; as a result, the fabricated GO membranes are featured with controllable lamellar spacing and extraordinary stability in water or even strong acid and base solutions as well as strong mechanical properties, which will expand the application scope of GO membranes and provide ever better performances in their applications with aqueous solution environments.