Graphite oxide, formerly called?graphitic oxide?or?graphitic acid, is a compound of?carbon,?oxygen, and?hydrogen?in variable ratios, obtained by treating?graphite?with strong?oxidizers. The maximally?oxidized?bulk product is a yellow solid with C:O ratio between 2.1 and 2.9, that retains the layer structure of graphite but with a much larger and irregular spacing.[2]
The bulk material disperses in?basic?solutions to yield monomolecular sheets, known as?graphene oxide?by analogy to?graphene, the single-layer form of graphite.[3]?Graphene oxide sheets have been used to prepare a strong paper-like material, and have recently attracted substantial interest as a possible intermediate for the manufacture of graphene. This goal remained elusive until 2012 since graphene obtained by this route still has many chemical and structural defects.