A Comprehensive Review on Ion Beam-Reduced Graphene Oxide: Tailoring the Reduction with Optical, Electrical and Electronic Structural Properties

Graphene with its excellent mechanical, electrical, electronic and thermal properties has received widespread attention in academic and technological fields. Among the methods of synthesis, production of graphene via reduction of graphene oxide (GO) is considered as a simple and inexpensive method. Furthermore, this method yields so-called reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with tunable properties by controlling the degree of reduction. This review article focuses on the employment of ion beam irradiation as an alternative route to the conventional chemical or high-temperature annealing methods for the reduction of GO. The effect of ion irradiation parameters such as energy, species and fluence on the reduction process as well as the optical, electrical and electronic structural properties of ion beam-reduced GO are systematically studied and discussed in detail. This article could possibly motivate the researcher to utilize ion irradiation as an alternative, green tool for the production of graphene-based materials with novel properties. Graphical Abstract