Hydrothermal Dehydration for the “Green” Reduction of Exfoliated Graphene Oxide to Graphene and Demonstration of Tunable Optical Limiting Properties

This work reports a simple, clean, and controlled hydrothermal dehydration route to convert graphene oxide (GO) to stable graphene solution. The hydrothermally treated GO was characterized using UV−visible absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and solid state 13C NMR spectra. Compared to chemical reduction processes using hydrazine, the present “water-only” route has the combined advantages of removing oxygen functional groups from GO and repairing the aromatic structures. By controlling the hydrothermal temperatures, we can modify the physical properties of GO and obtain tunable optical limiting performance.