Graphene in Copper Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition Reactions: Evolution from [60]Fullerene and Carbon Nanotubes Strategies

Graphene possesses outstanding electronic and structural properties and the possibility to functionalize it with different functional moieties has greatly broadened the scope of its applications. The copper (I) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction has been recently adopted as a universal coupling process with applications that extend far beyond organic synthesis to further challenging goals in chemistry, polymer science, and biology. In this article we critically examine the progress in the use of the CuAAC reaction with different carbon nanostructures and show how this research is merging now in the development of novel graphene-based functional materials. We believe that the selective functionalization of graphene using the CuAAC click reaction may play an important role in improving the integration of graphene in multicomponent systems, and consequently their applications.