Controlled synthesis of graphene oxide by electrochemical exfoliation for advanced nanofiltration membranes

Graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a material of great interest for the formation of filtration membranes. Accurate tuning of its properties, such as sheet size and degree of oxidation, can improve its performance in pharmaceutical nanofiltration. The electrochemical synthesis of GO is a method that...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pla Cepeda, Raúl, Fernandez-Carrasco, Daniel, Villar-Rodil, Silvia, Baeza Herrera, José Alberto, Calvo Hernández, Luisa, Alonso Morales, Noelia, Gilarranz Redondo, Miguel Ángel, Suarez-García, Fabian, Paredes, Juan Ignacio
Format: article
Publication Date:2026
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repository:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:biblosearchi::907b62a0a1dd0c3180c38c8908998684
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/768440
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.122988
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Graphene oxide
Anodic exfoliation
Sheet size
Oxidation degree
Membranes
Nanofiltration
Química
Description
Summary:Graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a material of great interest for the formation of filtration membranes. Accurate tuning of its properties, such as sheet size and degree of oxidation, can improve its performance in pharmaceutical nanofiltration. The electrochemical synthesis of GO is a method that allows better control of its properties, among other advantages over traditional chemical synthesis. In this work, GO was prepared with two electrochemical methodologies that lead to materials with different oxidation degrees (C/O ratio of 2.7 and 4.0) and distribution of functional groups, with one being rich in hydroxyl and epoxide groups (96.8%) and the other in carbonyl and carboxyl groups (30.5%). In addition, GO with different sheet sizes (ca. 100 and 1000 nm) were obtained. GOs were used in the formation of membranes for the filtration of an antibiotic, whose rejection showed a strong dependence on the degree of oxidation of the GO membrane, rather than sheet sizes. Membranes prepared with 800 mg m 2 of GO with a C/O of 2.7 and small sheet size achieved high pharmaceutical retention (90%), improving upon membranes prepared with a commercial GO derived from standard chemical oxidation of graphite