Local charge transport properties of hydrazine reduced monolayer graphene oxide sheets prepared under pressure condition

Charge transport properties of chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets prepared by treatment with hydrazine were examined using conductive atomic force microscopy. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of monolayer RGO sheets prepared under atmospheric pressure followed an exponentially increase due to 2D variable-range hopping conduction through small graphene domains in an RGO sheet containing defect regions of residual sp3 carbon clusters bonded to oxygen groups, whereas RGO sheets prepared in a closed container under moderate pressure showed linear I-V characteristics with a conductivity of 267.2−537.5 S/m. It was found that the chemical reduction under pressure results in larger graphene domains (sp2 networks) in the RGO sheets when compared to that prepared under atmospheric pressure, indicating that the present reduction of GO sheets under the pressure is one of the effective methods to make well-reduced GO sheets.