Nanoscale reduced-graphene-oxide origin of shungite in light of neutron scattering
Abstract
New concept of shungite carbon exhibits this raw material as a multi-level fractal structure of nanosize fragments of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) (Int. J. Smart Nano Mat. 1, 1, 2014). The natural rGO deposits turn out to be quite challenging for the current graphene technology. Once consistent with all the block of the available geological and physicochemical data obtained during the last few decades, the concept nonetheless needs a direct confirmation in terms of the current graphene science. The first such acknowledgement has been received just recently when studying photoluminescence (PL) of shungite dispersions (JETP 118, 735, 2014). A close similarity of PL spectra of aqueous dispersion of shungite and those of synthetic graphene quantum dots of the rGO origin has been established. The current paper presents the next direct confirmation provided with neutron scattering. Elastic neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering have left no doubts concerning both graphene-like configuration and chemical composition of basic structural elements of shungite attributing the latter to rGO nanosize sheets with an average ∼6:0.1:2 (C:O:H) atomic content ratio per one benzenoid unit. The experimental data are supplemented with quantum chemical calculations that allowed suggesting a clear vision of the shungite structure at its first fractal levels.
Keywords
shungite,
natural nanoscale reduced graphene oxide,
multi-stage reduction of graphene oxide,
retained water,
elastic and inelastic neutron scattering,
quantum chemical calculations
Supporting agencies: The authors greatly appreciates financial support of RSF grants 14-08-91376 (E. Sh.) and 13-03-00422 (N.R.) as well as the Basic Research Program, RAS, Earth Sciences Section- 5. The grants of the Polish Plenipotentiary in JINR for the modernization project of the NERA spectrometer in 2007–2012 are gratefully acknowledged.
About the Authors
E. F. Sheka
Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Moscow
N. N. Rozhkova
Institute of Geology, Karelian Research Centre RAS
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Petrozavodsk
K. Hołderna-Natkaniec
Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University
Poland
Poland
Poznan
I. Natkaniec
Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University; Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Poznan, Poland
Dubna, Russia
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Review
For citations:
Sheka E.F., Rozhkova N.N., Hołderna-Natkaniec K., Natkaniec I. Nanoscale reduced-graphene-oxide origin of shungite in light of neutron scattering. Nanosystems: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics. 2014;5(5):659-676.
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