Synthesis and characterization of CeO2 modified graphene oxide with improved wettability

In this paper, CeO 2 nanoparticles coated graphene oxide (CeO 2 @GO) nanocomposites were synthesized by a modified hydrothermal method. The morphology and structure of CeO 2 @GO nanocomposites were characterized systematically. Moreover, the wettability behavior of GO before and after coating CeO 2 nanoparticles was investigated. It was found that the CeO 2 nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~10 nm were successfully loaded on the GO surface. TEM investigations showed that the CeO 2 nanoparticles loaded on the GO surface were dominated by an octahedral shape, and the main exposed surfaces of CeO 2 nanoparticles were {111} facets. This was because the closed-packed plane CeO 2 {111} had the lowest surface energy. After loading CeO 2 on the GO surface, the contact angle between Al drop and CeO 2 @GO substrate was reduced from 166° to 70° by calculation, attributing to that the CeO 2 coating increased the surface free energy of GO. This work provides a feasible method to prepare the rare earth oxides coated GO nanocomposites and shows potential applications in the field of graphene reinforced aluminum matrix composites (AMCs).