A rapid low-cost technology to produce highly conductive laser-scribed reduced-graphene oxide (rGO) thin films on flexible substrates is developed. Isolated rGO films, up to 30 nm thick and with a conductivity of 102 S m−1 are produced at room temperature in a three-step process: filtering the graphene oxide (GO) solution through nitrocellulose membranes, reduction of GO surface using a DVD-burner laser and solvent-free transfer of the resulting rGO pattern onto new substrates via pressure-based mechanism. The loss of density in the reduced part produces an increase in the thickness enabling the transfer of rGO only. The rGO is characterized with several analytical techniques, and its reduction degree, thickness, morphology, electrochemical and electromechanical properties are investigated and optimized. The validation of the technology is tested using a wide variety of substrates, and its applicability as a sensing platform for dopamine detection and back electrode in an electroluminescent lamp is demonstrated, opening the venue for a plethora of other new applications.

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Au-based catalysts are widely used in important processes because of their peculiar characteristics. The catalyst performance depends strongly on the nature and structure of the metal nanoparticles, especially in the case of bimetallic catalysts where synergistic effects between the two metals can be occasionally seen. In this paper, it is shown that electrochemical characterisation (cyclovoltammetry CV and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy EIS) of AuPd systems can be used to determine the presence of an electronic interaction between the two metals, thus providing a strong support in the determination of the nature of the synergy between Au and Pd in the liquid phase oxidation of alcohols. However, it seems likely that the strong difference in the catalytic behavior between the single metals and the bimetallic system is connected not only to the redox behaviour, but also to the energetic balance between the different elementary steps of the reaction.