ABSTRACT
Graphene (G) exhibits a considerable number of new optical and electronic effects that have not been observed in other materials such as zero-band-gap semiconductivity with a high carrier mobility, high optical transparency, and high tensile strength. Various chemical synthetic methods are used to obtain G for basic studies and industrial applications. In this chapter, we discuss two different kinds of polymer devices with G or graphene oxide such as: (i) solar cells and (ii) ultracapacitors. With respect to all analyzed devices, we propose to analyze G based on three aspects: (1) as the addition to polymer, (2) as transparent conductive electrodes, and (3) as interface layers. This chapter is closed by examples of atomic force microscopy analytes of properties of G-based materials for energy conversion and storage in polymer solar cells and ultracapacitors. We analyzed the results of investigations described in articles published from 2007 to 2014 because there were essentially no papers dedicated to this subject before 2007. The selection of referenced papers is subjective, and our primary objective is to emphasize the new and important trends in various polymer devices with G.
