Highly dispersible and stable anionic boron cluster-graphene oxide nanohybrids

An efficient process to produce boron cluster-graphene oxide nanohybrids that are highly dispersible in water and organic solvents is established for the first time. Dispersions of these nanohybrid materials in water were extraordinarily stable after one month. Characterization of hybrids after grafting of appropriate cobaltabisdicarbollide and closo-dodecaborate derivatives onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) was done by FT-IR, XPS, and UV/Vis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) clearly shows a higher thermal stability for the modified-GO nanohybrids compared to the parent GO. Of particular note, elemental mapping by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) reveals that a uniform decoration of the graphene oxide surface with the boron clusters is achieved under the reported conditions. Therefore, the resulting nanohybrid systems show exceptional physico-chemical and thermal properties, paving the way for an enhanced processability and further expanding the range of application for graphene-based materials.This work has been suppo rted by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, (MINECO; CTQ2013-44670-R, MAT2014-53500-R) and Generalitat de Catalunya (2014/SGR/149). J.C.-G. thanks the CSIC for an intramural grant. ICMAB and ICN2 acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496 and SEV-2013-0295). J.C.G. is enrolled in the UAB Ph.D. program.Peer Reviewe