A research team of Dr. James Tour’s lab at Rice University has developed a novel method to bond different organic molecules to graphene sheets, making the wonder material suitable for numerous organic chemistry applications.
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) funded the project together with other funding organizations. Graphene, a one-atom-thick carbon material, is inert to organic chemical reactions. To overcome this issue, the research team used hydrogen to treat the novel material. Through this novel hydrogenation process, the team restructured the honeycomb lattice of the nanomaterial into a semiconducting two-dimensional superlattice termed as graphane.
The hydrogenation process can then be customized to create specific patterns in the superlattice and then attach the mission-specific molecules to the places where the hydrogen molecules are bonded. These mission-specific molecular catalysts play a major role in the graphene-based organic chemistry applications. Moreover, they can be customized for optics and electronics applications, and for developing new class of metamaterials for nanoengineering optimized thermoelectric gadgets and sensors for numerous pathogens and chemicals.
This novel process helps developing future devices that have several highly advanced capabilities in a single compact device at affordable cost. The AFOSR program manager, Dr. Charles Lee, who funded the project, stated that graphene chemistry is capable of developing innovative materials for various unique applications. Lee added that this latest research will be helpful especially in developing future electronics applications, thus paving the way to faster, energy-saving electronics.
Source: http://www.wpafb.af.mil