I synthesized composites of rGO and Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) and tailored its surface area by using silica template (coloidal silica) and then etching with 4 M NaOH. The XRD analysis of sample without surface tailored process showed no peak of Graphite but the peaks of Graphite appeared in tailored composite. How does reduce graphene oxide turned to graphite and what is the mechanism behind this reaction?
I have faced a similar problem in some cases and it seems it is due to the collapsing of the graphene layers
You did not mention the reaction time and temperature. Most probably, in presence of 4 M NaOH solution they can self-catalyze the reduction reaction during etching process to decrease the O/C ratio via reducing the epoxy, hydroxy and carboxy moieties in the rGO resulted in graphite.
GO or rGO can be converted into graphene rather than graphite using reducing agents such as NaBH4 because the number of GO or rGO sheets is much less than graphite and is similar to graphene.
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