Temperature dependent structural breathing of hydrated graphite oxide in H2O Original Research Article

Hydration of graphite oxide by excess of water was studied in the temperature interval 295–230 K. A structural breathing effect is found for fully hydrated graphite oxide near the water solidification/melting point. Expansion of hydrated graphite oxide structure due to insertion of additional water occurs upon cooling down from ambient temperature to the point of water media freezing. Cooling down below the point of water medium solidification results in stepwise contraction of graphite oxide interlayer distance by ∼25% due to partial withdrawal of water from the hydrated structure. Heating back from 230 K to ambient temperature results in graphite oxide structure expansion due absorption of water from medium, thus making a reversible cycle. The effect of structure breathing is important for any chemical treatments performed with graphite oxide in solution, e.g. graphite oxide functionalization and conversion into graphene-related materials.