@article{ed7b12468da5498e9b90bcf0ddfd966a,
title = "Unraveling the synergistic influences of graphene and CuO on the structural, photon and phonon properties of graphene:CuO nanocomposites",
abstract = "By this work, we discussed about the influence of the graphene on the structural, optical and phonon properties of the CuO nanostructures. The observed variations in the morphology, crystallite size and band gap of the CuO nanostructures with respect to the loading amount of graphene were discussed. The observed broad optical absorption of the CuO nanostructures was explained with the help of the Mie scattering and Gan's theoretical approximations. The observation of the multiphonon activity related bands in the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the Raman studies of the composites were discussed. The appearance of the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) like enhancement in the Raman bands of the graphene in the composites was discussed by considering the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of CuO nanostructures. The comparative study of the prepared composites for the treatment of dye effluent was discussed.",
author = "R. Udayabhaskar and R. Suresh and Mangalaraja, {R. V.} and Jorge Y{\'a}{\~n}ez and B. Karthikeyan and David Contreras",
note = "Funding Information: The successful formation of the graphene:CuO composites was confirmed by the XRD, SEM/TEM, FTIR and Raman studies. By increasing the loading amount of the GS, we observed that the spherical morphology of the pure CuO nanostructures was deteriorated. At the same time, the presence of the CuO nanoentities prevented the aggregation of the individual graphene sheets and the same was further supported by the Raman studies. The observed increase in the band gap values of the CuO in the graphene:CuO nanosomposites was attributed to the variation in the crystallite size with respect to the loading amount of the graphene. The observed broad band absorption strongly suggested the presence of the SPR related activity in the CuO nanostructures and this was further supported with the spectral calculations based on the Mie and Gan's theoretical approximations. The increased spin-phonon interaction as predicted from the FTIR studies and the electron-phonon interactions from the Raman studies suggested the observation of increased multiphonon activity in the prepared samples. The observation of the bilayer graphene related 2D Raman band nature of the graphene in the composites signified the prevention of the aggregation of the graphene sheets due to the decoration of CuO nanoentities. The observed 16 fold enhancement in the G band and 40 fold enhancement in the 2D bands of graphene in the graphene:CuO composites were attributed to the CuO induced local field enhancements related SERS activity. The absence of visible range emission and the observed dominant dye adsorption activity indicated that the recombination of the carriers was very fast in the CuO nanostructures. The systematic investigation of these composites as flexible pseudo-capacitor electrodes and as an electrode for the microbial fuel cell are under way.The authors acknowledge financial support from the {\textquoteleft}National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (CONICYT){\textquoteright} for FONDEF No. 18i10337, PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007, FONDECYT No. 3160499, FONDECYT No. 3160142 and Fondequip-EQM 160050. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge financial support from the {\textquoteleft} National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (CONICYT) {\textquoteright} for FONDEF No. 18i10337 , PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007 , FONDECYT No. 3160499 , FONDECYT No. 3160142 and Fondequip - EQM 160050 . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2019",
month = nov,
doi = "10.1016/j.carbon.2019.06.074",
language = "English",
volume = "152",
pages = "766--776",
journal = "Carbon",
issn = "0008-6223",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd.",
}