Carbon-based materials graphene

O.C. Compton, S.T. Nguyen, Graphene oxide, highly reduced graphene oxide, and graphene versatile building blocks for carbon-based materials. Small 6, 711-723 (2010)... 

Further, due to its unique 2D flexible structure and extremely high carrier mobility, graphene has proven to be an attractive material as well as good promoter for electron transportation. In DSSCs, the expensive Pt-based counter electrode has to be replaced by low-cost materials and highly conductive carbon-based materials are promising candidates. Recently researchers have reported that the performance of graphene functionalized... 

Figure 7.5 Carbon nanotubes (CNT) (Y.-L. Zhao, J.F Stoddart, Noncovalentfunctionalization of single-walled carbon nano tubes, Accounts of Chemical Research 42 (2009) 1161-1171.) and graphene (Adaptedfrom O.C. Compton, S.T Nguyen, Graphene oxide, highly reduced graphene oxide, and graphene versatile building blocks for carbon-based materials. Small 6 (2010) 711-723.).

Fig. 6.2 Carbon-based materials used in electroanalysis schemes for (a) single- and (b) multiwall carbon nanotubes, (c) graphene, (d) C o fullerene (e) transmission electron microscopy images of carbon black particles (Reproduced from Refs. [45,54,55], and [56] with the permission of Springer, American Chemical Society and InTech, respectively)...

Research has shown that the surface functionalization of carbon-based fillers, which can both maximize interfacial adhesion between carbon-based fillers and the polymer matrix and increase the dispersion of CB, CNTs, and graphene in polymer matrix, is one of the best approaches to achieve good dispersion of conducting particles in polymer matrix. At present there are several approaches for functionalization of carbon-based materials including defect functionalization, covalent functionalization, and non-covalent functionalization (Gong et al. 2000 Hirsch 2002). Some functional groups, which can improve the interaction between carbon-based fillers and polymer matrix, are covalently bonded directly to the surface of carbon. These functionalization methods will be discussed in Chap. 25 (Vol. 2). 

The great advance in the chemical control of fullerene derivatives by means of metals can also be considered as a benchmark for the further development of the less known chemistry of the most-difficult-to-handle carbon nanotubes and graphenes. No doubt, the use of metals will enhance the possibilities of these new carbon-based materials in the search for practical applications. 

Only recently, carbon nanotubes and graphene attracted increasing attention as catalyst support in fuel cells and other applications due to their favorable properties. Also the use of hierarchical structures, which are obtained by templating [74,75], as well as mesoporous carbons has received a proper share of interest. For the broad application of these more sophisticated carbon structures, however, their cost needs to be significantly reduced. Among these promising carbon-based materials, the use of CNTs as support in electrocatalysis will be described in some detail in the following. 

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