Graphene-Like Layers from Unconventional Carbon Sources: New Perspectives on Hybrid Materials and π-system Synergisms

Abstract

We developed a new approach for producing graphene-like (GL) materials through a two-steps oxidation/reduction method starting from a nanostructured (high surface) carbon black, a versatile carbonaceous material prone to be structurally and chemically modified in quite mild wet conditions. Atomic Force Microscopy and zetapotential measurements allowed to model the assembling mechanisms and the role of hydrophobic interactions, demonstrating the possibility to easily tune the surface morphology. GL materials have been then employed in a large variety of hybrid materials for innovative applications, and characterized by chemical, electrical, structural and spectroscopic techniques. With Metal-Organic Frameworks, GL produced conducting composites with electrical conductivity tunable by changing the concentration of the parent materials; Eumelanin/GL and TiO 2 -nanoparticles/GL were also studied for photocatalysis and biosensors applications.

An Old but Lively Nanomaterial: Exploiting Carbon Black for the Synthesis of Advanced Materials

“…One of the most fascinating CB potentiality is the possibility to obtain a highly versatile graphene related material (GRM) by its destructuration. The CB-derived GRM is made up by stacked short graphenic fragments (here in the following graphene-like layers, GL) and it is obtained through a two steps oxidation/reduction approach [24][25][26] allowing scalability and poten- tially large-amount production at reduced costs. Differently from the well-known reduced graphene oxide (rGO) obtained by similar approaches, the GL layers present intact graphenic basal planes (whereas the rGO present holes and defects) that are important to guarantee the electrical conductivity.…”

“…GL layers exhibit a peculiar self-assembling behavior when dried on surfaces, arranging in different morphologies (ranging from atomically flat to patterned surface) as a consequence of the suspension pH, surface roughness and GL surface chemistry [25][26][27]. I-V measurements showed linear responses implying an Ohmic behavior of GL films.…”

“…The peculiar characteristic of GL layers to establish stable colloidal suspensions after dispersion in water without the use of any surfactant make them particularly suitable for the preparation of a wide array of electrically conductive hybrid materials including intercalated metal organic frameworks MOFs [26,34], biocompatible interfaces [35][36] and photoactive materials [37][38].…”

“…The preparation of composites combining MOFs and carbon-based materials has been proposed as a solution to overcome the weak points of MOFs and to expand their field of applications [44]. The embedding of conductive graphene-like layers into the structure of copper-based MOF in a one-pot strategy was successfully achieved as possible route to improve MOF conductive properties [26,34]. Our first experimentation on the well-known copper-based MOF HKUST-1 (also known as MOF-199 or Basolite) demonstrates that the composites were produced incorporating up to 40 wt.% of GL layers kept preserved the characteristic features of pristine HKUST-1 crystal.…”