Ultralight-Weight Graphene Aerogels with Extremely High Electrical Conductivity

The integration of 2D graphene sheets into a porous and macroscopic structure is extremely attractive for application in several electrochemical fields. In this regard, for the first time, the synthesis of 3D graphene aerogels is reported by using a rapid, easy, cost-effective, and scalable at industrial level methodology. These aerogels integrate the intrinsic properties of graphene with a high pore volume. To achieve this ultraporous graphene network, resorcinol/formaldehyde polymer with controllable porosity is employed as a binder and a cross-linker material, and a graphene oxide solution provides the graphene building blocks. Two series of materials with and without catalyst for resorcinol/formaldehyde reaction and with different synthesis conditions and graphene contents are studied. The resulting graphene aerogels present low density, large macroporosity, and electrical conductivity values as high as 852 S m(-1), with 97.58% of porosity, which is the highest value of electrical conductivity reported so far in the literature for ultralight-weight graphene aerogels.

Automated summary

The synthesis of 3D graphene aerogels using a rapid, easy, cost-effective, and scalable industrial level methodology is reported for the first time. These aerogels exhibit low density, large macroporosity, and high electrical conductivity values reaching up to 852 S m(-1), with a porosity of 97.58%.