Efficacious Phyto-based reduction of Graphene oxide using Pisonia grandis R.Br

The current global trend on innovative nanotechnology is in the upsurge, which has joined its hands, making our lives thoughtful and more effortless. Even though technologies are helping us a hand to hand from early morning to bedtime, the human mind relying on electronic gadgets looks for more sophistication in all areas of workplaces. Carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted researchers’ interest and evolved from bulk to zero dimensions, 2D and 3D nanomaterials. 2D graphene, which is 200 times stronger than steel, has revolutionised science and technology due to its unique properties. The nature of a carbon atom in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice makes graphene an all-rounder. Though graphene can be synthesized by various top-down and bottom-up approaches, the synthesis of graphene oxide from the precursor graphite, reduction of graphene oxide to reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) requires toxic chemicals as reducing agents [1].  Instead of toxic chemicals being utilized to synthesise graphene, the biogenic method of utilizing phytoconstituent- rich plant parts would replace toxic chemicals used as reductants and capping agents in the synthesis of metallic non-metallic nanoparticles. Pisonia grandis R.Br, a traditional medicinal plant, serves as a reducing agent in synthesising metallic gold and silver nanoparticles [2]. Thus, our study highlights the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) using Pisonia grandis as a reductant to reduce graphene oxide by various methods like refluxing, sonication and Microwave synthesizer. The reduced Graphene Oxide were characterized. The results indicate that Pisonia grandis effectively reduces Graphene Oxide by refluxing method, and it also gets embedded in the reduced form of graphene oxide. The synthesized rGO was characterized by advanced techniques like XRD, 3D optical profilometer, FESEM, RAMAN, TGA. The Raman spectra confirm that synthesized rGO possesses few-layer and the morphological results of rGO show sheet-like graphene layers. Thus it is anticipated to contribute to a wide range of applications in energy storage devices like sensors, fuel cells, supercapacitors, etc. Therefore, utilizing plant extract to reduce graphene oxide would replace toxic chemicals, and it would serve as an eco-friendly green approach for the synthesis of rGO.