This study contributes to the sustained effort to unravel the chemical structure of graphite oxide (GO)
by proposing a model based on elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction,
13C magic-angle spinning NMR, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron spin resonance investigations. The model exhibits a carbon
network consisting of two kinds of regions (of trans linked cyclohexane chairs and ribbons of flat hexagons
with CC double bonds) and functional groups such as tertiary OH, 1,3-ether, ketone, quinone, and
phenol (aromatic diol). The latter species give clear explanation for the observed planar acidity of GO,
which could not be interpreted by the previous models. The above methods also confirmed the evolution
of the surface functional groups upon successive oxidation steps.
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