Creation of localized spins in graphene by ring-opening of epoxy derived hydroxyl

Creation of high-density localized spins in the basal plane of graphene sheet by introduction of sp(3)-type defects is considered to be a potential route for the realization of high-magnetization graphene. Theoretical and experimental studies confirmed that hydroxyl can be an effective sp(3)-type candidate for inducing robust magnetic moment. However, the artificial generation of hydroxyl groups for creating high-density spins on the basal plane of graphene sheet is very scarce. Here we demonstrate that high-content hydroxyl groups can be generated on the basal plane of graphene oxide (GO) sheet by ring opening of epoxy groups. We show that by introduction of 10.74 at.% hydroxyl groups, the density of localized spins of GO can be significantly increased from 0.4 to 5.17 μB/1000 C. Thus, this study provided an effective method to obtain graphene with high-density localized spins.