Patent ID: 8691174

Claim:
A nitrate salt-based process for manufacturing graphite oxide, the process comprising steps of: (a) mixing in a reaction vessel a reaction mixture comprising the following starting materials: a sulfuric acid, an inorganic nitrate salt, an amount of water, a first amount of a chlorate salt, and a graphite; (b) allowing the reaction mixture to react to form graphite oxide; and (c) separating the graphite oxide from the reaction mixture to give an isolated graphite oxide wherein the reaction vessel containing the reaction mixture also contains a headspace having chlorine dioxide gas therein, a purge gas inlet, and a purged gas outlet, wherein the reaction mixture is in fluid communication with the headspace and the purge gas inlet and purged gas outlet, and the process further comprises a step of purging with a purge gas having a flow rate at least some of the chlorine dioxide gas from the headspace and out of the reaction vessel via the purge gas outlet.