Chemical modification of vertically aligned graphene standing on SiC microspheres for selective oxidation

Abstract

Vertically aligned multi-layer graphene standing on SiC microspheres could be chemically modified to prepare nitrogen doped graphene standing on SiC microspheres (NG on SiCm). The unique structure consisted of a nitrogen doped graphene layer (the lateral dimension is ∼200 nm) and a solid SiC core (the diameter is in the range from 0.2 μm to 0.8 μm). Based on XPS analysis, the nitrogen element is controllably doped in the nanostructure of the graphene layer of NG on SiCm. The NG on SiCm is found to be an effective recyclable carbocatalyst for selective oxidation reactions. Owing to the unique nanostructure of the nitrogen doped graphene grown on the inert SiC core, the nanomaterial is not only tough enough to hardly change in chemical modification reactions, but also expected to serve as a predispersed recyclable high performance carbocatalyst.