A facile one-step hydrothermal method to produce graphene-MoO₃ nanorod bundle composites

We describe a facile in situ hydrothermal fabrication of graphene-MoO ₃ nanorod bundle composites utilizing sodium salicylate. The structure, morphology and composition of graphen-MoO₃ composites were investigated by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC). FESEM and TEM studies show that the presence of ordered MoO₃ nanorod bundles in composites, the characterization results of XRD, Raman spectra and TG-DSC analysis confirm the reduction of graphite oxide (GO) to graphene accompanying by the formation of MoO₃ nanorod bundles in the hydrothermal process. Due to characteristics of MoO₃ and graphene-MoO₃ composites, our findings may have implications in the synthesis and fabrication of well-defined functional graphene-MoO₃ hybrid materials. It may also provide a general approach for the preparation of graphene-metal oxide hybrid materials.