Graphene oxide is an important starting material for developing chemically modified graphene for use in a variety of important technical applications that include energy-related materials sensors, biomedical materials and polymer compositions for fuel cells. Graphene oxide can be formed into a dispersions in solvents including water and these concentrated dispersions of graphene oxide nanoparticles remain stable for weeks. It is becoming increasingly evident that for nanomaterials simple models of colloidal suspensions are inappropriate since the structure of the solvents has a strong influence on particle behaviour as their dimensions become smaller. In this proposal we will use neutron diffraction to examine the structure of the water solvations shell surrounding graphene oxide nanoparticles using different isotopic compositions of water.
