Facile recyclable process of high-quality single layer graphene oxide via waste graphite anode scrap

Here we report a facile reusable method for graphene oxide (GO) from the oxidation of waste graphite anode scrap (WGAS), which was synthesized by Couette–Taylor flow reactor. The toroidal motion of fluids generated by the mechanical and structural specificity of the reactor increased the intercalation rate and oxidation efficiency of the WGAS, resulting in high production yield (95 ± 1%) of GO within 90 min reaction time. In addition, the as-synthesized GO nanosheets were extensively characterized using a variety of techniques, which allowed the identification of two-dimensional monolayers (∼1.3 nm) and successfully functionalized high-quality graphene oxides. Our approach of the high-efficiency oxidation and exfoliation of recycled GO with WGAS may find potential application in numerous industrial fields, such as catalysis and electrodes in energy conversion and storage systems, and conductive materials in electronic devices.