Localized reduction of graphene oxide by electrogenerated naphthalene radical anions and subsequent diazonium electrografting.

Herein, we describe a new localized functionalization method of graphene oxide (GO) deposited on a silicon oxide surface. The functionalization starts with the reduction of GO by electrogenerated naphthalene radical anions. The source of reducers is a microelectrode moving close to the substrate in a typical scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) configuration. Then, the recovery of electronic conductivity upon reduction enables the selective electrochemical functionalization of the patterns. The illustrative example is the electrografting of reduced-GO with a diazonium salt bearing a protonated amino group that can further immobilize gold nanoparticles by simple immersion. This study opens new routes for the construction of multifunctional patterned surfaces.