ABSTRACT
As graphene paves its way through the new era of nanotechnology, extensive industrial production of graphene becomes essential. Nevertheless, there is also an unfeigned exigency to divert the focus from traditional petroleum-derived precursors to non-conventional and sustainable precursors owing to the rising environmental concern. Many natural substances and biomass have been explored as a solid carbon source for the synthesis of graphene. The search for non-conventional carbon precursors concomitantly addresses the emerging global issue of industrial waste management as various polymer wastes have now been established as potential precursors for graphene synthesis. Chemical vapor deposition, acidic or basic treatment, and high-temperature pyrolysis at controlled conditions are some of the popular strategies toward graphitization of these carbon sources. This chapter gives an overview of the synthesis of graphene, doped graphene, and graphene hybrid from non-conventional sources, their characterization and potential applications. These non-conventional sources closely emulate the conventional analogs in terms of the quality and performance of the graphene obtained from them.
