Graphene oxide (GO) raised substantial interest in the past two decades due to its unique properties beyond those of pristine graphene, including electronic energy bandgap, hydrophilic behavior, and numerous anchoring sites required for functionalization. In addition, GO is found to be a cheap mass-production source for the formation of the pristine graphene. However, the presence of numerous clusters containing oxygen functional groups (called debris) on the GO surface hinders the GO integration in electronic devices.

In this talk, I will present a microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of multilayer and single layer GO.   In addition, I will present a straightforward method that aims to reduce the density of oxygen debris weakly bonded to the surface. The method consists of minimal treatments, like sonication and/or water rinsing processes. The characterizations are demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. With the use of Scanning tunneling microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, the designated nonuniform distribution of the oxidation sites were measured. They appear as clusters concentrated preferentially on GO-defected regions, albeit separated by pristine graphene areas. The results in this talk will reflect on the impact of the implementation of GO in electronic devices deposited on different substrates.