You can follow already existing discussion on RG (first link). Moreover next (second) link to article "Role of graphite precursor and sodium nitrate in graphite oxide synthesis" will answer your question (part of Conclusion in this paper is: "Thirdly, addition of NaNO3 during synthesis increased the interlayer distance, and helped oxidation on the basal planes compared to the sheet edges."). The true is that NaNO3 (or NaNO2 used in some cases) is not necessary for GO synthesis.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_function_of_NaNO3_in_graphene_oxide
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2014/RA/c4ra01019a#!divAbstract
basically you should use nitric acid and sulfuric acid for oxidazation but we can use NaNO3 as well do to the following reaction
2 NaNO3 (S) + H2SO4 (L) → NA2SO4 (S) + 2 HNO3 (L)
ENTHALPY OF REACTION
[1ΔHf(Na2SO4 (s)) + 2ΔHf(HNO3 (l))] - [2ΔHf(NaNO3 (s)) + 1ΔHf(H2SO4 (l))]
[1(-1384.49) + 2(-173.22)] - [2(-466.68) + 1(-814)] = 16.4300000000001 kJ
16.43 kJ (endothermic)
and Dr Lukáš Richtera is right
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