Plasma-Induced Tailoring of Graphene Oxide Surfaces for Electrochemical Applications: Functionalization and Etching

Yijing Y. Stehle; Timothy J. Barnum; Sandra Schujman; Ivan V. Vlassiouk; Rebecca Cortez

doi:10.1021/acsaelm.5c00939

Plasma-Induced Tailoring of Graphene Oxide Surfaces for Electrochemical Applications: Functionalization and Etching

Yijing Y. Stehle, Timothy J. Barnum, Sandra Schujman, Ivan V. Vlassiouk, Rebecca Cortez

Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials

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1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates the use of radio frequency air plasma as an eco-friendly method to rapidly and reversibly tailor the surface properties of graphene oxide (GO) films. We observed a transition from hydrophilic (contact angle ∼55°) to superhydrophilic (<10°) with short plasma exposure, attributed to a synergistic combination of surface modification and etching. Spectroscopic analyses (FTIR, XPS) revealed early stage formation of carbonyl groups and reduction of hydroxyls, while longer treatments induced atomic-level etching (AFM) and structural changes (XRD). This surface engineering enhanced the dielectric properties of GO films but led to reduced aqueous stability. The elucidated interplay between plasma-induced functionalization and etching provides valuable insights for the controlled modification of GO surfaces for various applications, including advanced dielectrics.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	6635-6645
Number of pages	11
Journal	ACS Applied Electronic Materials
Volume	7
Issue number	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.5c00939
State	Published - Jul 22 2025

Funding

This work was primarily supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers CMMI 23-01838 and MRI2320284. Part of the work was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The authors thank Aidan Donnelly for his participation in the experimental work during his senior project.

Keywords

etching
graphene oxide (GO)
radio frequency air plasma
superhydrophilic
surface modification

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10.1021/acsaelm.5c00939

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title = "Plasma-Induced Tailoring of Graphene Oxide Surfaces for Electrochemical Applications: Functionalization and Etching",

abstract = "This study investigates the use of radio frequency air plasma as an eco-friendly method to rapidly and reversibly tailor the surface properties of graphene oxide (GO) films. We observed a transition from hydrophilic (contact angle ∼55°) to superhydrophilic (<10°) with short plasma exposure, attributed to a synergistic combination of surface modification and etching. Spectroscopic analyses (FTIR, XPS) revealed early stage formation of carbonyl groups and reduction of hydroxyls, while longer treatments induced atomic-level etching (AFM) and structural changes (XRD). This surface engineering enhanced the dielectric properties of GO films but led to reduced aqueous stability. The elucidated interplay between plasma-induced functionalization and etching provides valuable insights for the controlled modification of GO surfaces for various applications, including advanced dielectrics.",

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PY - 2025/7/22

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Plasma-Induced Tailoring of Graphene Oxide Surfaces for Electrochemical Applications: Functionalization and Etching

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