Simultaneous Synthesis of One-and Two-Dimensional Gold Nanostructures/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites in the Redox-Active Ionic Liquid/Water Interfacial System

Abstract

In this study, one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) Au nanostructure/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites are simultaneously prepared via a redox-active ionic liquid (RAIL)|water (W) interfacial method without the use of a capping agent. The RAIL (ferrocenylmethyl)dodecyldimethylammonium tetrakis[3, 5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate ([FcMDDA]⁺][TFPB⁻]) plays the dual role of a hydrophobic liquid supporting the interfacial system as well as a reducing agent for the metal precursor and graphene oxide (GO). The RAIL|W interfacial system provides two kinds of composites in the growth regions with no interference between them, namely, Au nanofiber/rGO composites at the RAIL|W interface and Au nanosheet/rGO composites in the bulk of W, which can be easily separated after synthesis. The spontaneous formation mechanism of the two Au-rGO composites has been discussed in detail. Thus, an efficient strategy to prepare 1D and 2D Au-rGO composites simultaneously is developed by employing an interfacial system, which provides a new direction in the synthesis of metal–GO composites.