Facile synthesis of reduced graphene oxide from Azadirachta indica for optical power limiting applications: an eco-friendly approach

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was synthesized successfully from dead leaves of neem trees using a novel synthesis method comprising combustion, washing, and drying. The synthesized carbonaceous material was subjected to systematic characterization analysis. The rGO material was subjected to X-ray powder diffraction analysis to determine the grain size and other structural parameters. The existence of defect and graphitic band was confirmed by FT-Raman analysis. The presence of a 2D band around 2700 cm(-1) indicated the formation of multi-layered graphene. SEM analysis was used to examine the structural morphology of the synthesized material. FTIR spectra revealed the information about the spectral properties of rGO. Compositional analysis revealed the presence of carbon and other contents in the specimen. The title material may be used in optical power limiters, according to z-scan and optical limiting analysis. The results indicate that the cost of synthesis would be significantly reduced when done on a large scale, using this procedure. Furthermore, rGO produced by this method is environmentally friendly, nontoxic and has a high yield.