Applications of Graphene Based Materials in Energy and Environmental Science

Graphene has drawn considerable scientific and commercial interest thanks to its unique structure, including being single-atom thick, strictly two-dimensional and completely conjugated, which results in some unique electric, optical, mechanical and thermal properties. These properties combined with the inherent benefits of the nanocarbon materials make graphene a promising material for the applications in electronics, quantum physics, novel materials and chemistry. In this review we mainly discuss the recent advance of graphene-based materials in energy and environment science including fuel cells, supercapacitors, sensors, catalysts and adsorbents. The techniques for the preparation of graphene, such as mechanical exfoliation, thermal deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), unzipping CNT, reduction of graphite oxide, particularly the matrix-assisted direct exfoliation of graphene from graphite are briefly introduced in this review.