Corn Flour Nano-Graphene Prepared by the Hummers Redox Method

In view of the current high cost of graphene, the corn flour with rich sources was selected as the raw material to prepare nano-graphene by the hydrazine hydrate (Hummers) redox method. The elements, structure, and morphology of the obtained corn graphene (CG) were studied by the organic element analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the carbon content of CG was increased by 37.8% from 57.4% (corn flour) to 95.2% (CG). There was a diffraction peak of graphene on the (002) crystal surface at 23.08°. The D and G peaks of the Raman test were present, and the ID/IG of the peak intensity ratio was 1.19. The lattice distance of the CG sample was larger than that of the commercial graphene (GE), the CG was about three layers with a layer spacing of 1.21 nm, and the CG was thinner than the GE, which proved that the obtained CG was the nano-graphene.