(174d) Transformation of Carbon Dioxide Into Boron-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites Using a Reducing Agent

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), a readily available, low-cost and sustainable carbon source, could be converted to liquid fuels, useful chemicals, and carbon materials.Among the several alternatives of reducing CO₂, attractive options include transforming CO₂ to diamonds and nanotubes, either through direct CO₂ splitting or via reaction with metals subject to pressures higher than 70 MPa. Nonetheless, the possibility of CO₂ reduction to other carbon nanomaterials like graphene oxide without using metal-containing compounds and without employing extreme conditions has not been demonstrated. Graphene oxide is not only a suitable and scalable precursor of graphene, but also a flexible platform for biological, chemical, electronic, medical, and optical applications.This talk reports the conversion of CO₂ to graphene oxide nanocomposites using ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃), which is a well-known candidate material for hydrogen storage. The conversion involves two consecutive steps: carbon fixation and then graphenization. The carbon fixation is the reaction of CO₂ with NH₃BH₃ under mild temperature and pressure conditions (T < 100 ^oC and P < 3 MPa) to produce a solid compound that contains methoxy (OCH₃), formate (COOH) and aliphatic groups, whereas the graphenization is the pyrolysis of this solid compound at high temperatures (T > 600 ^oC) and atmospheric pressure of nitrogen to generate graphene oxide-boron oxide nanocomposites. The generation of the nanocomposites is confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, solid state ¹³C and ¹¹B magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM).