Graphene aerogel prepared by thermal evaporation of graphene oxide suspension containing sodium bicarbonate

Abstract

We present a facile, environment-friendly and mild method to fabricate graphene hydrogel by heating graphene oxide (GO) suspension containing sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃). This method demonstrates a new type of in situ reduction-assembly approach to construct graphene hydrogel through simultaneous water evaporation and GO reduction. The freeze-dried graphene aerogel (G-Gel) shows excellent adsorptivity to heavy metal ions and dyes. The thermally treated G-Gel (TG-Gel) exhibits promising performance in recyclable selective absorption of oils and organic solvents.