UAEH scientists patent innovative and economical method to obtain graphene oxide

Directorate of Social Communication, January 18/January 2024

UAEH Newsletter No. 22

*The UAEH currently has 39 inventions, of which 37 are patents and two are utility models.

*The invention allows the production of this material without the use and generation of toxic waste. 

Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo. - Researchers from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), received from the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property (IMPI) the patent title Number 407748, for inventing a one-step method for the production of graphene oxide from graphite.

The team formed by Rosa Ángeles Vázquez García, Víctor Gerardo Ibarra García and Karina Alemán Ayala from the Institute of Basic Sciences and Engineering (ICBI) of the UAEH, in collaboration with Víctor Manuel Castaño Meneses, researcher at the Department of Molecular Engineering of Materials at the Center for Applied Physics and Advanced Technology of the UNAM, sought to develop a more economical extraction method that would allow the industry to reduce costs and the generation of toxic waste.

Rosa Ángeles Vázquez García, research professor of the Academic Area of Earth and Materials Sciences (AACTyM) of the Autónoma de Hidalgo, pointed out that the project started with the doctoral thesis of Víctor Gerardo Ibarra García, when he was a graduate student in Materials Sciences.

"We value the student's ideas, we are not traditionalist advisors, we open our lines of knowledge for them to propose, we listen to them and, if the project is viable, we carry it out. This is how we got in touch with Victor Manuel Castaño Meneses from UNAM, who has experience in aerospace materials," said Garza, noting that one of the objectives of this method is to be used in the aerospace industry.

While Karina Alemán Ayala, research professor of the Academic Area of Computing and Electronics (AACyE), pointed out that from graphene oxide it is possible to obtain reduced graphene oxide, a compound that can be integrated into electronics due to its high electrical conductivity and because it improves the properties of semiconductor devices such as transistors and diodes.

"Due to its properties of being compatible with other materials, characteristics such as flexibility, thinness, transparency, and even biocompatibility can be combined and integrated into medical devices to be able to census some physiological function or to be integrated into the human body, such as the skin," he said.

He also pointed out that this method allows the amount generated to be greater than traditional methods, such as Hummers, which adds highly toxic agents to create the oxidation of the graphene and whose production is one gram of product, while the interdisciplinary team's proposal allows up to five grams to be obtained.

After obtaining the patent, there are already two companies interested in acquiring this method; therefore, work will be done to establish the link with the productive sector and determine the operational guidelines.

On the other hand, the research group will seek to improve the method to increase the production and use of non-toxic oxidation agents. They will also promote research into the properties and use of graphene in other areas.