Rate and Mechanistic Investigation of Eu(OTf)2-Mediated Reduction of Graphene Oxide at Room Temperature

We have developed a fast and efficient method for reduction of graphene oxide (GO) at room temperature. A divalent europium complex {Eu(OTf)2} has been used as reducing agent. The product {reduced graphene oxide (rGO)} was characterized by various spectroscopic (FT-IR, UV-visible absorption and Raman), microscopic (TEM and AFM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Kinetic investigations suggest that, bimolecular rate constants for the reduction are 13.7±0.7 M−1s−1 and 5.3±0.1 M−1s−1 in tetrahydrofuran-water and acetonitrile-water mixtures, respectively. We have also determined the rate orders for every components to understand the mechanism of the reduction reaction.