ABSTRACT
A.true.indication.of.the.potential.for.the.applications.of.graphene.would.be.the.realisation.of.commercial.products..There.has.been.work.conducted.that.suggests.that.this.is.not.too.far.away..Transparent.conductive.graphene.electrodes. have. been. synthesised. for. dye-sensitised. solar. cells. [35]. and. stretchable transparent electrodes [36]. IBM has fabricated graphene field effect transistors (FETs) by laterally modifying graphene to mimic the quantum confinement shown in CNTs (and hence a band gap is induced) [40]..Furthermore,.graphene.has.been.used.in.liquid.crystal.devices.[41],.as.an.electromechanical.resonator.[42],.and.as.a.proposed.solution.for.water-insoluble.cancer.drug.delivery.[43].Fundamental. research. continues,. with. interest. in. graphene. centred.around. its. exceptional. charge. carrier. mobility. (200,000. cm2. V-1. s-1). [18],.thermal.(ca..5000.W.m-1.K-1).[30].and.optical.properties.[35],.high.surface. area [37], and strength (Young’s modulus of ca. 1,100 GPa and fracture true strength.of.125.GPa).[31]..The.observation.of.various.phenomena.is.ongoing,.with.much.to.be.answered.about.the.parallels.between.the.relativistic.charge.carriers.found.in.graphene.and.other.areas.of.physics..In.the.short.term,.the.development.of.functional.devices.incorporating.graphene.will.need.to.meet.the.important.tenet.of.mass.production.. 8.2 METHODS OF PRODUCTION AND PURIFICATIONConventional.arguments.suggest. that. thermodynamically,.graphene.should.not.exist..The.existence.of.the.extended.periodic.hexagonal.carbon.structure.was.based.on.a.combination.of. theory.and.observation.and.was.explained.by. Meyer. et al. [6]. as. being. a. result. of. topological. inhomogeneity-a. 2D.structure. extending. into. a. third. dimension. by. means. of. troughs,. valleys,.and.defects..Thorough.investigations.of.the.physical.phenomena.associated. with graphene (quantum hall effect, Berry’s phase, etc.) have subsequently been.possible..However,.early.research.on.graphene.soon.saturated.because. of limited sample availability with the hype yet to be justified. The call for. chemists. echoed. internationally,. and. chemical. pathways. to. graphene.emerged..As.a.result.of.the.many.avenues.in.which.chemistry.can.be.exploited.in. the. pre-. and. post-production. of. graphene,. a. greater. interdependence.across. the. disciplines. of. science. has. developed,. with. a. growing. dialogue. between chemists and researchers in other fields such as physics, biology, and materials.science-who,.otherwise,.might.only.have.worked.with.graphene.in.its.pristine.form..There.are.currently.four.main.avenues.to.the.synthesis.of.graphene:.chemical.vapour.deposition,.epitaxial.growth,.graphite.exfoliation,.and. “colloidal”. suspensions.. Synthetic. routes. are. now. emerging. as. likely.candidates.for.the.mass.production.of.graphene..
