Facile and green synthesis of reduced graphene oxide using Cajanus cajan leaf extract and exploration of potential reducing phyto-constituents using quantum chemical calculations

Graphene-based functionalized materials can serve diversified range of applications. It has 2D honeycomb-like structure. Oxygenated functional groups of graphene oxide (GO) can be eliminated to obtain reduced graphene oxide (RGO), which generally involves the application of toxic and poisonous substances. But the most tedious job is to scale up the production of graphene without harming the environment. In this paper, we prepared RGO from GO using a biological source, the leaves extract of Cajanus cajan (Local name: Arhar), under ambient conditions. The method is cost-effective and eco-friendly. The resulting RGO has been characterized by PXRD, FT-IR, Raman, and UV–vis spectroscopy. Additionally, DFT-based computations were employed to find the potential reducing agents among the major components of the Cajanus cajan leaves.