ABSTRACT
The world of carbon played only on the well-known modi cations, graphite and diamond, until the 1980s. The scenario was completely changed by the discovery of the molecular carbon allotropes, namely, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, carbon nanohorns, and carbon onions. Because of their exceptional behaviors, researchers turned straight away into the exploration and modi cation of these new groups of materials. Owing to their versatility in terms of textural/ surface properties as well as morphology, chemical inertness under harsh conditions, thermal stability, and mechanical resistance, nanostructured carbonaceous materials are recognized as potential resources in various applications [1,2]. Each of these carbon-based materials has its own unique properties. To adduce, graphene, a 2D sp2-hybridized carbon material (CM), has a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Undoubtedly, it is the world’s thinnest, strongest, and stiffest material, along with extraordinary conducting behavior toward both heat and electricity. It showed promises to be a potential material in many emerging applications because of its very huge surface area and other exclusive physical and chemical properties. The theoretical surface area of monolayer graphene was found to be 2620 m2/g [3,4]. Similarly, CNTs also posses unique structural, mechanical, optical, thermal, and electrical properties and hence are widely utilized in various elds [5]. Both single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can be used either as isolated nanostructures or in the form of macroscopic assemblies, such as CNT papers and lms [6], yarns [7], bers [8], and forests [9]. Each form has its own applications in different elds. Likewise, fullerene is another allotropic form of carbon that is in the form of a hollow sphere, entirely composed of carbon. Since 1990, the practical applicability of fullerenes and their derivatives, especially in the eld of medicinal chemistry, has been studied thoroughly [10].
