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A research team from Skoltech and other scientific organizations conducted a study to determine which conditions are the most suitable for storing graphene oxide—a promising material that can be used for manufacturing composite materials, gas sensors, and in many other fields.

The results show that the most optimal conditions for graphene oxide, when its properties will not change, are low temperatures and a lack of light. The paper was published in the Surfaces and Interfaces journal.

Graphene has unique properties and is widely used in electronics, energy storage, and optoelectronics. Obtaining pure graphene in large quantities is not easy and expensive, so it is often replaced with derivatives—for example, graphene oxide (GO). It has high electrical resistance, low thermal conductivity, and high solubility.

Graphene oxide has not yet been widely used in industry due to its chemical heterogeneity, structural disorders that occur due to the aggressive chemical environment during the synthesis, as well as natural aging of the material under environmental influence.

"The structure of graphene oxide manufactured chemically is very difficult to reproduce—it will always be different. And after a while, it begins to degrade, and the properties of the oxide itself change," said Dmitry Kvashnin, a study co-author, Doctor of Science in Physics and Mathematics, docent, Leading Research Scientist at the Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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