Recently, a team led by He Chuanxin, a professor with the College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, has made encouraging progress in stability and reactivity of nano materials. The research paper titled “Unconventional chemical graphitization and functionalization of graphene oxide toward nanocomposites by degradation of ZnSe[DETA]0.5 hybrid nanobelts” has been published on Science China Materials, an important journal in the chemistry field. Postdoctoral researcher Xu Liang is the first author of the paper; Professor He Chuanxin is the corresponding author; and Shenzhen University is the first corresponding organization.

Unlike macro block materials, the high surface energy of nano materials enables the metastable state and high sensitivity to external changes. When strong interactions (dissolution, acidolysis etc.) happen between nano particles and the exterior, the highly unstable nano particles will go through continuous adjustments (restructuring, chemical transformation etc.) and reach a new stable state. Such adjustment process can be used to realize nonconventional designing and manufacturing of functional nano materials. In the project, based on the low stability of ZnSe[DETA]0.5 hybrid nanobelts, the researchers put forward the unconventional chemical graphitization and functionalization of graphene oxide toward nanocomposites. Under the action of strong acid, H+ ions will protonate the DETA molecules in ZnSe[DETA]0.5 nanobelts, and make the ZnSe inorganic layers previously stabilized by DETA molecules become very unstable and release Se2- anions with high reducibility. These Se2- anions with high reducibility will interact with the graphene oxide nanobelts, therefore unconventional chemical reduction and doping can be realized under room temperature. Because the relatively low reduction potential (-0.924V) of Se2-, by controlling the oxidation and posttreatment processes of Se2- anions, three composite materials of Se/(Se+ZnSe)/ZnSe and reduced graphene can be obtained. Se-reduced graphene composite material can be used as precursor in subsequent physical/chemical processes to obtain composite materials of Se nanowires/Cu2Se/Ag2Se/Pt nano particles and reduced graphene. Therefore, the unstable process of nano materials can be used in the unconventional designing and manufacturing of various functional nano materials.