A facile approach to prepare graphene via solvothermal reduction of graphite oxide

[Display omitted] •Graphene was prepared via a novel and facile solvothermal reduction method for graphite oxide.•Most of the oxygen functional groups of graphite oxide were removed.•The reduced graphene oxide obtained was featured with bilayer nanosheets. In this work, a facile reduction strategy is reported for the fabrication of graphene. Graphite oxide (GO) is reduced via a novel solvothermal reaction in a mixed solution of acetone and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). The structure, surface chemistry, morphology and thermal stability of the as-prepared reduced graphene oxide (RGO) are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicate that most of the oxygenated groups in GO are effectively removed in this solvothermal reaction. The novel reduction method provides a simple, cost-effective and efficient strategy for the fabrication of graphene.