Hidden Relaxation Channels in Aqueous Methylene Blue after Functionalization of Graphene Oxide Probed by Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

The mixture of graphene oxide （GO） and dye molecules may provide some new applications due to unique electronic, optical, and structural properties. Methylene blue （MB）, a typ- ical anionic dye, can attach on GO via π-π stacking and electrostatic interaction, and the molecule removal process on GO has been observed. However, it remains unclear about the ultrafast carrier dynamics and the internal energy transfer pathways of the system which is composed of GO and MB. We have employed ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy to investigate the excited dynamics of the GO-MB system dispersed in water by exciting the samples at 400 nm pump pulse. The pristine MB and GO dynamics are also analyzed in tandem for a direct comparison. Utilizing the global analysis to fit the measured signal via a sequential model, five lifetimes are acquired：（0.61±0.01） ps, （3.52±0.04） ps, （14.1±0.3） ps, （84±2） ps, and （3.66±0.08） ns. The ultrafast dynamics corresponding to these lifetimes was analyzed and the new relaxation processes were found in the GO-MB system, compared with the pristine MB. The results reveal that the functionalization of GO can alter the known decay pathways of MB via the energy transfer from GO to MB in system, the increased intermediate state, and the promoted energy transfer from triplet state MB to ground state oxygen molecules dissolved in aqueous sample.

Catalytic graphitization of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers coated with Prussian blue

Prussian blue(PB) was used as catalyst to improve the extent of graphitization of polyacrylonitrile(PAN)-based carbon fibers.PB was deposited on carbon fibers by anodic electrodeposition and the thickness of PB coating(PB content) was controlled by adjusting the electrodeposition time.PAN-based carbon fibers with PB coating were heat-treated and the extent of graphitization was measured by X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy.The results indicate that the extent of graphitization of PAN-based carbon fibers is enhanced in the presence of the coating.When the PB-coated carbon fibers were heat-treated at 1 900 ℃,interlayer spacing(d002) and crystallite size(Lc) reach 0.336 8 and 21.2 nm respectively.Contrarily,the values of d002 and Lc are 0.341 4 and 7.4 nm respectively when the bare carbon fibers were heat-treated at 2 800 ℃.Compared with the bare carbon fibers,PB can make the heat treatment temperature(HTT) drop more than 500 ℃ in order to reach the same extent of graphitization.Furthermore,the research results show that PB content also has a certain influence on the extent of graphitization at the same HTT.

果园上空的星星

他小时候,村上有一座丰茂的果园。每年果子成熟的季节,守护果园的任务就会落到父亲头上。他常缠着父亲带他一起去守园。在他小小的心里,果园的夜晚是那么神秘和美丽.苹果、梨子、大枣静静地散发着果香,秋虫在'叽叽'地叫个不停。墨蓝的夜空,一轮明月高悬,果树的枝枝叶叶像铺了一层明晃晃的水银。满天密集的繁星,一闪一闪地眨巴着眼睛,温柔地俯视着他,仿佛一阵风就会吹下一颗,落到他的掌心。

Effects of substrate and transfer on CVD-grown graphene over sapphire-induced Cu films

We differentiated the effects of Cu films deposited on single crystalline a-,r-,and c-plane sapphire substrates upon graphene films synthesized with atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition(CVD).The data illustrate that the realization of high-crystalline Cu film is dependent not only on the crystallinity of underlying substrate,but also on the symmetric match of crystallographic geometry between metal film and substrate.We also systematically investigated the effects of PMMA removal on the Raman ID/IG and IG/I2D values of transferred graphene.The results reveal that different PMMA removal methods do not alter the ID/IG values;instead,the residue of PMMA increases the IG/I2D values and the thermal decomposition of PMMA leads to higher IG/I2D values than the removal of PMMA with acetone.The effects of PMMA removal on variations of the Raman spectra are also discussed.

Preparation, Characterization, and Electrocatalytic Performance of Graphene-Methylene Blue Thin Films

We report a general method to graft aromatic molecules onto graphene thin film electrodes through a simple immersion process. Large-area electroactive graphene thin films grafted with methylene blue （MB） have been developed as electrocatalytic electrodes for the oxidation of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide （NADH）. The oxidation of NADH starts from -0.08 V （vs. Ag/AgC1） at the graphene-MB thin film electrodes, showing a decrease of 530 mV in overpotential compared to a Ti metal electrode. The graphene-MB thin films have promising applications in biosensors and biofuel cells due to their ability to promote NADH electron transfer reaction.

Contracted interlayer distance in graphene/sapphire heterostructure

Direct growth of graphene on insulators is expected to yield significant improvements in performance of graphene-based electronic and spintronic devices. In this study, we successfully reveal the atomic arrangement and electronic properties of a coherent heterostructure of single-layer graphene and α-Al2O3（0001）. The analysis of the atomic arrangement of single-layer graphene on α-Al2O3（0001） revealed an apparentcontradiction. The in-plane analysis shows that single-layer graphene grows not in a single-crystalline epitaxial manner, but rather in polycrystalline form, with two strongly pronounced preferred orientations. This suggests relatively weak interfacial interactions are operative. However, we demonstrate that unusually strong physical interactions between graphene and α-Al2O3（0001） exist, as evidenced by the small separation between the graphene and the α-Al2O3（0001） surface. The interfacial interaction is shown to be dominated by the electrostatic forces involved in the graphene n-system and the unsaturated electrons of the topmost O layer of α-Al2O3（0001）, rather than the van der Waals interactions. Such features causes graphene hole doping and enable the graphene to slide on the α-Al2O3（0001） surface with only a small energy barrier despite the strong interfacial interactions.