Surface/Interface Engineering of Carbon-Based Materials for Constructing Multidimensional Functional Hybrids

Carbonaceous materials (CMs), such as carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, graphene, carbon quantum dots, graphdiyne, and their derivatives, have sparked enormous excitement because of their attractive properties and great potential for solar energy conversion applications. Although pristine CMs are known for their unique electronic structure, optical properties, and thermal conductivity, many research fields and applications require functionalized CMs with integrated physicochemical properties and tunable dimensionality. Structurally modifying CMs through various surface/interface engineering reveals the numerous possibilities for tuning their architectures and properties. This Review mainly focuses on the basic surface/interface engineering issues of diverse CMs. The effects of surface/interfacial engineering in versatile systems as well as the excellent mechanical, electronic, optical properties and applications of the functionalized CMs-based composites are highlighted. Some ongoing challenges and possible solutions for future exploration of CMs-based functional composites are critically discussed.