Thermally reduced graphene nanoplatelets were covalently functionalised via Bingel reaction to improve their dispersion and interfacial bonding with an epoxy resin. Functionalised graphene were characterized by microscopic, thermal and spectroscopic techniques. Thermal analysis of functionalised graphene revealed a significantly higher thermal stability compared to graphene oxide. Inclusion of only 0.1 wt% of functionalised graphene in an epoxy resin showed 22% increase in flexural strength and 18% improvement in storage modulus. The improved mechanical properties of nanocomposites is due to the uniform dispersion of functionalised graphene and strong interfacial bonding between modified graphene and epoxy resin as confirmed by microscopy observations.

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The research and development of advanced energy-storage systems must meet a large number of requirements, including high energy density, natural abundance of the raw material, low cost and environmental friendliness, and particularly reasonable safety. As the demands of high-performance batteries are continuously increasing, with large-scale energy storage systems and electric mobility equipment, lithium-sulfur batteries have become an attractive candidate for the new generation of high-performance batteries due to their high theoretical capacity (1675 mA h g) and energy density (2600 Wh kg). However, rapid capacity attenuation with poor cycle and rate performances make the batteries far from ideal with respect to real commercial applications. Outstanding breakthroughs and achievements have been made to alleviate these problems in the past ten years. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in lithium-sulfur battery research. We cover the research and development to date on various components of lithium-sulfur batteries, including cathodes, binders, separators, electrolytes, anodes, collectors, and some novel cell configurations. The current trends in materials selection for batteries are reviewed and various choices of cathode, binder, electrolyte, separator, anode, and collector materials are discussed. The current challenges associated with the use of batteries and their materials selection are listed and future perspectives for this class of battery are also discussed.

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Graphene reinforced Poly(vinylidene fluoride) composite nanofibers were prepared and their morphology, crystallinity, polymorphism and electrical outputs were investigated for the first time.. Nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning technique with different graphene contents. DSC, FTIR and WAXD analyses were used to evaluate the polymorphism of PVDF crystals upon graphene addition. It was observed that addition of a small amount of graphene (0.1%wt) significantly increased the F(β) and open-circuit voltage of nanofibers. However, further increase in graphene content decreased the electrical output of randomly oriented nanofibers. The developed PVDF/graphene nanogenerator has the ability to fully synchronize the finger movement and its generated electricity can light up a commercial LED for 30 seconds. This new type of PVDF generator has the potential to be used as a self-charging power source and could be used in powering the personal electronics.

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