The current study
focuses on the investigation of changes in chemical,
wetting, and electrical transport properties of a graphene oxide film
irradiated by low-energy (5 keV) nitrogen ions at different fluences.
At this energy, there is no apparent change in surface topography.
However, a strong change in surface chemistry is noticeable through
a Raman scattering study, an X-ray diffraction study, and X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy. Such a change has significant effects on its surface
wetting property and electrical conductivity. The initial hydrophilic
surface becomes hydrophobic after irradiation. Furthermore, the electrical
conductivity increases with the ion fluence. Calculations based on
density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations predict
that these observed changes are primarily due to the partial removal
of oxygen-containing groups, leading to the increased availability
of C p
z
electrons and their consequent
in-plane delocalization leading to π conjugation, which is known
to be central to structural stability, resulting in the ease of electron
transport in networks of three coordinated carbon atoms. The current
study further enlightens a path of synthesizing reduced graphene oxide
and graphene from graphene oxide using a low-energy ion beam irradiation
technique.