Transport Properties of Graphene Oxide Membranes

The purpose of my research project was to investigate the transport properties of graphene oxide-based material. The two-dimensional lattice structure of graphene oxide exhibit a layer-to-layer distance of approximately 0.34 nm. However, upon the exposure of polar compounds which are small enough to penetrate through the layers, such is water, the layer-to-layer distance increases beyond 0.34 nm. This expansion allows small polar compound to be co-transported with water through the layers. Moreover, it is hypothesized that an asymmetric transport of small compounds against water is not possible. Besides the asymmetric transport phenomena, graphene oxide pillaring with planar compounds, such as pyrene, is being currently investigated.