Consequence of oxidation method on graphene oxide produced with different size graphite precursors

[Display omitted] •GO synthesized from different size precursor graphite using different oxidation methods.•Each GO shows distinct TGA, FTIR, and XRD characteristics.•Electrical conductivity correlates with GO flake size estimated by XRD technique.•Precursor size had no influence on rGO derived from extensively oxidized GO. Exfoliation method is a most cost effective method for producing chemically derived-graphene (CDG) yet electronic performance of CDG strongly depends on the lateral and vertical dimensions of graphene especially in regards to the development of macroscopic scale films. This work demonstrates the variation in functionality of Graphene oxide (GO) prepared via Marcano-Tour’s and modified Hummer’s method using two different sized graphite precursors. Reduced GO papers were fabricated using vacuum filtration and examined by Hall probe and Raman spectroscopy to ensure their quality. A correlation between oxidation-controlled GO size with their overall electrical conductivity is explored by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. This study reveals that the modified Hummer’s method suitably preserves basal planes of GO produced from larger GO flakes with less inter-sheet resistance and illustrates the importance of comparing synthetic methods for producing large area high quality graphene related nanostructures.