Graphene Microtubings: Controlled Fabrication and Site-Specific Functionalization

Manipulating graphene through engineering for macroscopic assemblies of practical importance is a big challenge. We develop a dually geometric confinement approach for the scalable preparation of meter-long graphene microtubings (mu GTs) With a tunable diameter. They have strength comparable to graphene fiber and can be shaped to hierarchical multichannel mu GT systems in a straightforward way. Of particular importance, mu GTs Can be selectively functionalized in a site specific outer wall, inner wall, outer/inner-wall, and within wall fashion, which endows the mu GT With unique properties for desirable applications Apart from the magnetically and photoelectronically responsive mu GT developed here, a self powered micromotor made of Pt inner wall modified mu GT showing agile motion in aqueous medium has been also achieved. Beyond the applications demonstrated in this study, the well-defined mu GT systems can also play essential role in other important fields such as fluidics, catalysis,purification, separation, and sensing.