The use of graphene materials as conductive inks for flexible and transparent electronics is promising, but challenged by the need for stabilizers, specialized organic solvents, and/or high temperature annealing, severely limiting performance or compatibility with substrates and printing techniques. Here, the development of a scalable water‐based graphene oxide ink is reported that can be screen‐printed on flexible plastic substrates and subsequently reduced using a 1:1 mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and hydroiodic acid, thereby creating an electric circuit. The reduced prints exhibit low sheet resistance of 327 Ω sq−1 for thin semitransparent layers with 37% transmittance. This methodology with postprinting chemical reduction outperforms high temperature annealing, thereby eliminating the need for such a step, which is incompatible with flexible plastic substrates. The strategy relies on low cost, industrially compatible chemicals and can be scaled up for low cost manufacture of roll‐to‐roll printed electronics.
The structure of graphene oxide (GO) is a matter of discussion. While established GO models are based on functional groups attached to the carbon framework, another frequently used model claims that GO consists of two components, a slightly oxidized graphene core and highly oxidized molecular species, oxidative debris (OD), adsorbed on it. Those adsorbents are claimed to be the origin for optical properties of GO. Here, we examine this model by preparing GO with a low degree of functionalization, combining it with OD and studying the optical properties of both components and their combination in an artificial two-component system. The analyses of absorption and emission spectra as well as lifetime measurements reveal that properties of the combined system are distinctly different from those of GO. That confirms structural models of GO as a separate oxygenated hexagonal carbon framework with optical properties governed by its internal structure rather than the presence of OD. Understanding the structure of GO allows further reliable interpretation of its optical and electronic properties and enables controlled processing of GO.
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