Technical graphene (reduced graphene oxide) and its natural analog (shungite)

The wide structure and chemical-composition spectrum of the main technological material of molecular graphenics—reduced graphene oxide (RGO)—is explained from a quantum-chemical standpoint. The proposed concept is used to consider the results of experimental investigations of a natural analog of RGO, namely, shungite carbon, by high-resolution electron microscopy and nanopoint energy dispersive spectral analysis. The results obtained are used to propose an atomic-microscopic model for the structure of shungite carbon. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd