Novel radiation-induced properties of graphene and related materials

Interaction of graphene, graphene oxide, and related nanocarbons with radiation gives rise to many novel properties and phenomena. Irradiation of graphene oxide in solid state or in solution by sunlight, UV radiation, or excimer laser radiation reduces it to graphene with negligible oxygen functionalities on the surface. This transformation can be exploited for nanopatterning and for large scale production of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Laser-induced dehydrogenation of hydrogenated graphene can also be used for this purpose. All such laser-induced transformations are associated with thermal effects. RGO emits blue light on UV excitation, a feature that can be used to generate white light in combination with a yellow emitter. RGO as well as graphene nanoribbons are excellent detectors of infra-red radiation while RGO is a good UV detector. Review: Dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) can be reduced to produce reduced graphene oxide (RGO) upon irradiation with different sources such as laser, UV light, or sunlight. This irradiation-induced transformation is further employed for pattering applications and also to achieve blue light. Moreover, RGO seems to be a potential candidate for detecting infrared as well as UV light.