Graphene Sheets from Graphitized Anthracite Coal: Preparation, Decoration, and Application

Coal has been used as an important resource for the production of chemicals, conventional carbon materials, as well as carbon nanomaterials with novel structures, in addition to its main utilization in the energy field. In this work, we present the synthesis of chemically derived graphene and graphene noble metal composites with coal as the starting material by means of catalytic graphitization, chemical oxidation, and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma-assisted deoxygenation. It is found that the graphitization degree of the coal-derived carbon remarkably affects the properties of graphene obtained from chemical exfoliation, and high crystallinity of coal-derived carbon is essential for the preparation of high-quality graphene sheets (GS). GS decorated with highly dispersed noble metallic nanoparticles (NP) on their surface (NP/GS) were successfully fabricated via simultaneous reduction of graphite oxide (GO) and noble metal salts by H-2 DBD plasma technique. The electrochemical performance of the GS as electrode in supercapacitor and the catalytic activities of NP/GS composites in selective reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) were investigated. This work demonstrates an alternative approach for the fabrication of graphene and its composites from coal with promising potential in energy storage and environment preservation.