Research progress on the structure of graphene oxide

The structure of graphene oxide (GO) is fundamental to understanding its properties and to realizing its applications. Experiment observations of the GO structure from different researchers are similar. However, the interpretation of the experimental data is still controversial due to the complicated oxygen functionalities and their arrangement. The Lerf-Klinowski structural model is one of the most popular used to fit experimental data and explain properties such as hydrophilicity and electrical resistivity. However, it has been challenged by new findings, and new structural models have been proposed in recent years. Based on the acidity of GO, Dimiev et al. proposed a dynamic structural model to explain the structure change of GO during its preparation and preservation in water. Rourke et al. proposed a two-component structural model to account for the acidification and oxidation behavior.