Atomic and electronic structure of graphene oxide/Cu interface

TL;DR

This study combines experimental spectroscopy and theoretical modeling to elucidate the atomic and electronic structure of graphene oxide on copper, revealing oxygen migration, copper oxide formation, and a stable Cu/CuO/GO interface with specific C/O ratios.

Contribution

It provides a detailed atomic model of the Cu/GO interface, integrating experimental and theoretical insights into oxygen migration and interface structure.

Findings

Oxygen-containing groups migrate from GO to copper at C/O ratio below two.

Copper oxide layers form on copper surface during GO deposition.

The stable interface model is Cu/CuO/GO with C/O ratio around two.

Abstract

The results of X-ray photoemission (XPS) and valence bands spectroscopy, optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE) measurements and density functional theory based modeling of graphene oxide (GO) placed on Cu via an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) are reported. The comparison of XPS spectra of EPD prepared GO/Cu composites with those of as prepared GO, strongly reduced GO, pure and oxidized copper demonstrate the partial (until C/O ratio about two) removal of oxygen-containing functional groups from GO simultaneously with the formation of copper oxide-like layers over the metallic substrate. OSEE measurements evidence the presence of copper oxide phase in the systems simultaneously with the absence of contributions from GO with corresponding energy gap. All measurements demonstrate the similarity of the results for different thickness of GO cover of the copper surface. Theoretical modeling demonstrates favorability of migration of oxygen-containing functional groups from GO to the copper substrate only for the case of C/O ratio below two and formation of Cu-O-C bonds between substrate and GO simultaneously with the vanishing of the energy gap in GO layer. Basing on results of experimental measurements and theoretical calculations we suggest the model of atomic structure for Cu/GO interface as Cu/CuO/GO with C/O ratio in gapless GO about two.