From Nanographene and Graphene Nanoribbons to Graphene Sheets: Chemical Synthesis

Graphene Materials for Electrochemical Capacitors

Electrochemical capacitors (ECs) have been widely applied in electronics, electric vehicles, aircrafts, energy storage devices, uninterrupted or emergency power supplies, and so on. An ideal EC should have high energy and/or powder density, good rate capability, and long cycling life. Recently, graphene, graphene derivatives, and their composites have been explored as the electrode materials of ECs to satisfy these requirements. In this Perspective, we review the recent development in synthesizing graphene materials for ECs and discuss the strategies of fabricating graphene-based macroscopic electrodes. Particularly, we highlight the importance of the specific surface area, conductivity, and heteroatom-doping of graphene sheets and the micro/nanostructures of their electrodes for controlling the performances of graphene-based ECs.

Free-standing, single-monomer-thick two-dimensional polymers through covalent self-assembly in solution

The design and synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) polymers is a challenging task, hitherto achieved in solution only through the aid of a solid surface "template" or preorganization of the building blocks in a 2D confined space. We present a novel approach for synthesizing free-standing, covalently bonded, single-monomer-thick 2D polymers in solution without any preorganization of building blocks on solid surfaces or interfaces by employing shape-directed covalent self-assembly of rigid, disk-shaped building blocks having laterally predisposed reactive groups on their periphery. We demonstrate our strategy through a thiol-ene "click" reaction between (allyloxy)12CB[6], a cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) derivative with 12 laterally predisposed reactive alkene groups, and 1,2-ethanedithiol to synthesize a robust and readily transferable 2D polymer. We can take advantage of the high binding affinity of fully protonated spermine (positive charges on both ends) to CB[6] to keep each individual polymer sheet separated from one another by electrostatic repulsion during synthesis, obtaining, for the first-time ever, a single-monomer-thick 2D polymer in solution. The arrangement of CB[6] repeating units in the resulting 2D polymer has been characterized using gold nanoparticle labeling and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, we have confirmed the generality of our synthetic approach by applying it to different monomers to generate 2D polymers. Novel 2D polymers, such as our CB[6] derived polymer, may be useful in selective transport, controlled drug delivery, and chemical sensing and may even serve as well-defined 2D scaffolds for ordered functionalization and platforms for bottom-up 3D construction.

The chemistry of pristine graphene

Graphene is a unique material with outstanding mechanical and electronic properties. For solution processes graphene layers have to be stabilized by means of molecular or supramolecular chemical derivatization, prior to their transfer to solid substrates. The most common chemical methodology for the preparation of graphene involves the formation of graphene oxide under highly oxidizing conditions, which even after reduction, lacks the electronic quality of pristine graphene. Presently, there is increasing concern in the chemical community about the starting material quality, and recent efforts are directed to wet chemical approaches toward high-quality graphene flakes which encompass the use of graphite as initial material. In addition, epitaxial growth of graphene on metallic surfaces is becoming a powerful technique for the production of pristine graphene with a control on its electronic properties, somehow due to the supramolecular interaction with the metallic surface. Current approaches for the preparation of modified pristine graphene are the aim of this review.

Large-scale quantification of CVD graphene surface coverage

The extraordinary properties demonstrated for graphene and graphene-related materials can be fully exploited when a large-scale fabrication procedure is made available. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of graphene on Cu and Ni substrates is one of the most promising procedures to synthesize large-area and good quality graphene films. Parallel to the fabrication process, a large-scale quality monitoring technique is equally crucial. We demonstrate here a rapid and simple methodology that is able to probe the effectiveness of the growth process over a large substrate area for both Ni and Cu substrates. This method is based on inherent electrochemical signals generated by the underlying metal catalysts when fractures or discontinuities of the graphene film are present. The method can be applied immediately after the CVD growth process without the need for any graphene transfer step and represents a powerful quality monitoring technique for the assessment of large-scale fabrication of graphene by the CVD process.

Controlled synthesis of mesoporous carbon nanostructures via a "silica-assisted" strategy

We have established a facile and generalizable "silica-assisted" synthesis for diverse carbon spheres-a category that covers mesoporous carbon nanospheres, hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres, and yolk-shell mesoporous carbon nanospheres-by using phenolic resols as a polymer precursor, silicate oligomers as an inorganic precursor, and hexadecyl trimethylammoniumchloride as a template. The particle sizes of the carbon nanospheres are uniform and easily controlled in a wide range of 180-850 nm by simply varying the ethanol concentrations. All three types of mesoporous carbon nanospheres have high surface areas and large pore volumes and exhibit promising properties for supercapacitors with high capacitance and favorable capacitance retention.

Graphene synthesis: relationship to applications

Graphene is a true wonder material that promises much in a variety of applications that include electronic devices, supercapacitors, batteries, composites, flexible transparent displays and sensors. This review highlights the different methods available for the synthesis of graphene and discusses the viability and practicalities of using the materials produced via these methods for different graphene-based applications.

Ultrafast photoconductivity of graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes

We present a comparative study of the ultrafast photoconductivity in two different forms of one-dimensional (1D) quantum-confined graphene nanostructures: structurally well-defined semiconducting graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) fabricated by a "bottom-up" chemical synthesis approach and semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with a similar bandgap energy. Transient photoconductivities of both materials were measured using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy, allowing for contact-free measurements of complex-valued photoconductivity spectra with subpicosecond time-resolution. We show that, while the THz photoresponse seems very different for the two systems, a single model of free carriers experiencing backscattering when moving along the long axis of the CNTs or GNRs provides a quantitative description of both sets of results, revealing significantly longer carrier scattering times for CNTs (ca. 150 fs) than for GNRs (ca. 30 fs) and in turn higher carrier mobilities. This difference can be explained by differences in band structures and phonon scattering and the greater structural rigidity of CNTs as compared to GNRs, minimizing the influence of bending and/or torsional defects on the electron transport.

Doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as building blocks for nanoelectronics: a theoretical study

Density functional theory (DFT) and semiempirical UHF natural orbital configuration interaction (UNO-CI) calculations are used to investigate the effect of heteroatom substitution at the central position of a model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. The effects of the substitution on structure, strain, electronic and spectral properties, and aromaticity of the compounds are discussed.