Nanotechnology primer: Graphene

Carbon comes in many different forms, from the graphite found in pencils to the world's most
expensive diamonds. Graphene is an atomic-scale honeycomb lattice made of carbon atoms.
Existing forms of carbon basically consist of sheets of graphene, either bonded on top of each
other to form a solid material like the graphite in your pencil, or rolled up into carbon
nanotube or folded into fullerenes. It amazing properties as the lightest and strongest
material, compared with its ability to conduct heat and electricity better than anything else,
mean that it can be integrated into a huge number of applications. Initially this will mean that
graphene is used to help improve the performance and efficiency of current materials and
substances, but in the future it will also be developed in conjunction with other twodimensional (2D) crystals to create some even more amazing compounds to suit an even
wider range of applications. The first time graphene was artificially produced; scientists
literally took a piece of graphite and dissected it layer by layer until only 1 single layer
remained. This process is known as mechanical exfoliation. Graphene is undoubtedly
emerging as one of the most promising nanomaterials because of its unique combination of
superb properties, which opens a way for its exploitation in a wide spectrum of applications
ranging from electronics to optics, sensors, and biodevices.
It is difficult to produce high quality and single crystalline graphene thin films possessing
very high electrical and thermal conductivities along with excellent optical transparency.
Another issue of concern is that the synthesis of graphene by conventional methods involves
the use of toxic chemicals and these methods usually result in the generation hazardous waste
and poisonous gases. Therefore, there is a need to develop green methods to produce
graphene by environmentally friendly approaches.
The most common techniques available for the production of graphene includes
micromechanical cleavage, chemical vapor deposition, epitaxial growth on SiC substrates,
chemical reduction of exfoliated graphene oxide, liquid phase exfoliation of graphite and
unzipping of carbon nanotubes. However, each of these methods can have its own advantages
as well as limitations depending on its target application(s). In order to surmount these
barriers in commercializing graphene, concerted efforts are being made by researchers at
various R&D institutes, universities and companies from all over the globe to develop new
methods for large scale production of low-cost and high quality graphene via simple and ecofriendly approaches.

Multifaceted Applications of Graphene-based nanomaterials :

Energy: Graphene-based nanomaterials have many promising applications in energy-related
areas, for example, Graphene improves both energy capacity and charge rate in rechargeable
batteries; activated graphene makes superior supercapacitors for energy storage; graphene
electrodes may lead to a promising approach for making solar cells that are inexpensive,
lightweight and flexible; and multifunctional graphene mats are promising substrates for
catalytic systems. These examples highlight the four major energy-related areas where
graphene will have an impact: solar cells, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and catalysis
for fuel cells.
Sensors : Functionalized graphene holds exceptional promise for biological and chemical
sensors. It has been shown that the distinctive 2D structure of graphene oxide (GO),
combined with its superpermeability to water molecules, leads to sensing devices with an
unprecedented speed .Scientists have now found that chemical vapors change the noise
spectra of graphene transistors, allowing them to perform selective gas sensing for many

vapors with a single device made of pristine graphene no functionalization of the graphene
surface required
Flexible, stretchable and foldable electronics: Graphene has a unique combination of
properties that is ideal for next-generation electronics, including mechanical flexibility, high
electrical conductivity, and chemical stability. Combine this with inkjet printing and you get
an inexpensive and scalable path for exploiting these properties in real-world technologies .In
contrast to flexible electronics, which rely on bendable substrates, truly foldable electronics
require a foldable substrate with a very stable conductor that can withstand folding, i.e. an
edge in the substrate at the point of the fold, which develops creases, and the deformation
remains even after unfolding. That means that, in addition to a foldable substrate like paper,
the conductor that is deposited on this substrate also needs to be foldable.
Other uses: Researchers have exploited the extraordinary electrical and mechanical
properties of graphene to create a very efficient electrical/sound transducer. This
experimental graphene loudspeaker, without any optimized acoustic design, is simple to make
and already performs comparably to or better than similar sized commercial counterparts, and
with much lower power consumption .Graphene appears to be a most effective material for
electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. As a matter of fact, heat dissipation has
become a fundamental problem of electronic transport at the nanoscale. This is where
graphene comes in it conducts heat better than any other known material. Thermal interface
materials (TIMs) are essential ingredients of thermal management and researchers have
achieved a record enhancement of the thermal conductivity of TIMs by addition of an
optimized mixture of graphene and multilayer graphene.The concept of plasmonic cloaking is
based on the use of a thin metamaterial cover to suppress the scattering from a passive object.
This makes a single layer of graphene the thinnest possible invisibility cloak. The
possibilities of what we can achieve with the materials and knowledge we have, have been
blown wide open, and it is now conceivable to imagine such amazing prospective situations
as lightning fast, yet super-small computers, invisibility cloaks, smart phones that last weeks
between charges, and computers that we can fold up and carry in our pockets wherever we
go.
References :
www.graphenea.com/pages/graphene-uses-applications
www.nanowerk.com/topten.php

Jahnvi
B.E Chemical III yr