Compressible, amphiphilic graphene-based aerogel using a molecular glue to link graphene sheets and coated-polymer layers

A universal method to fabricate compressible graphene-based aerogel has been developed by using a molecular glue strategy, such as gamma-oxo-1-pyrenebutyric acid (OPBA). The OPBA could link the graphene skeleton sheets and dip-coated polymer layers, where the graphene skeleton could be obtained by hydrothermal or chemical reduction. In contrast to the brittle pristine graphene aerogel, the resulting polymer-coated graphene aerogel demonstrates high elastic properties. The improved compressible properties are attributed to the uniform coating of polymer on the graphene sheet and the effective stress transfer between the graphene sheet and polymer layers, which are enabled by OPBA molecular glue. In addition, this type of strong integrated graphene-based aerogel could be used in practical applications, such as hydrophilic and oleophilic intelligence and compressible electrical sensor. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.