Graphene Geology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Status quo of graphene geology in Brazil: mineralogical, petrological and materials science contributions

“…Geology of graphene operates in two main research lines: the production of graphene from mineral raw material that has undergone simple beneficiation processes and the extraction of graphene and analogous materials (such as graphite nanoplatelets) directly from rocks (Nobre et al, 2022a). Studies in the area began in 2011, when the relevance of the crystallographic, physical, and chemical characteristics of graphite ore in the properties of graphene obtained from it was first raised in the literature (Ruiz-Hitzky et al, 2011).…”

“…Contemporary industrial evolution relies on highly efficient materials and the application of nanotechnology. Leveraging the unique characteristics of graphene for the fast transmission of digital data contributes to the effective generation, storage, and transportation of energy (Nobre et al, 2022a).…”

“…Despite the significant potential for this material, several challenges have not yet been completely resolved, particularly in large-scale production and in the stabilisation of graphene. The adhesion of graphene to a substrate, its dispersion in a solution, or its oxidation to graphene oxide (eventually succeeded by the reduction process), aiming to reduce surface energy, contributes to its high manufacturing costs associated with low productivity processes (Rodrigues et al, 2017;Ba et al, 2020;Nobre et al, 2022a). In this challenging context, it is important to note that a promising alternative to meet the demand broadly and economically may be represented by natural graphenes.…”

“…Despite the advantages in terms of availability and cost, it is crucial to observe that natural graphenes inherently present crystalline defects and impurities due to natural material manipulation processes. These imperfections introduce irregularities in the material's structure, affecting its properties (Nobre et al, 2022a).…”

Simulation of geological graphene genesis by the piston-cylinder apparatus

“…Due to its two-dimensional structure and its physical and chemical properties, graphene has become a potential exponent of nanotechnology [12,13]. Nanostructured devices are considered the key to solving the problems encountered in the implementation and popularization of enabling technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, providing hitherto unprecedented physical and chemical properties by new nanomaterials, such as graphene, which can lead to relevant advances in the most diverse areas of science, such as telecommunications and information technology [14,15].…”