Synthesis and properties of phosphorus and sulfur co-doped graphene

The derivatisation of graphene significantly extends its application potential beyond just a highly conductive material. The introduction of sulfur based functionalities is relatively difficult and remains quite unexplored. Here, we demonstrated effective functionalization of graphene oxide with sulfur and phosphorus based functionalities by a simple one step reaction using phosphorus(v) sulfide known in organic synthesis as the Berzelius reagent. The chemistry of the starting graphene oxide significantly influenced the degree of functionalization. A detailed chemical analysis of the modified graphene showed the presence of various sulfur based functional groups as well as thiophosphate derivatisation. The resulting graphene highly functionalized with thiol based groups proved to be an effective immobilizer for gold nanoparticles.