Skip to main content

Graphene-Based Nanocomposites

Synthesis, Applications, and Future Prospect

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Polymer and Ceramic Nanotechnology

Abstract

Recently, many researchers are highly motivated on a wide range of 2D materials such as boron nitride, graphite carbon nitride, and black phosphorus due to their favorable physicochemical properties that lead to their diverse applications in potential fields including photocatalysis, energy storage, biomedical applications, etc. The pioneer of this research related to 2D materials is of course graphene. Nowadays, researchers are using graphene and its compounds such as graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, and chemically converted graphene (also called chemically modified graphene) to make graphene-based functional nanocomposites as go-to materials for large-scale industrial as well as clinical applications. This chapter is mainly dedicated towards modern synthesis techniques with the key properties of graphene-based nanocomposites, their vast array of applications, and finally, illustration of the future prospect of the wonderful nanocomposite materials.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abdul Khaliq R, Kafafy R, Salleh HM, Faris WF (2012) Enhancing the efficiency of polymerase chain reaction using graphene nanoflakes. Nanotechnology 23:455106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Akhavan O, Ghaderi E (2010) Toxicity of graphene and graphene oxide nanowells against bacteria. ACS Nano 4(10):5731–5736

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bai S, Shen X (2012) Graphene–inorganic nanocomposites. RSC Adv 2:64–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bera S, Ghosh M, Pal M, Das N, Saha S, Dutta SK, Jana S (2014) Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity of europium incorporated ZnO–graphene nanocomposites on human MCF7 breast cancer cells. RSC Adv 4:37479–37490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bera S, Naskar A, Pal M, Jana S (2016) Low temperature synthesis of graphene hybridized surface defective hierarchical core–shell structured ZnO hollow microspheres with long-term stable and enhanced photoelectrochemical activity. RSC Adv 6:36058–36068

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berber S, Kwon YK, Tomanek D (2000) Unusually high thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes. Phys Rev Lett 84:4613–4616

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chee WK, Lim HN, Huang NM, Harrison I (2015) Nanocomposites of graphene/polymers: a review. RSC Adv 5:68014–68051

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng S-J, Chiu H-Y, Kumar PV, Hsieh KY, Yang J-W, Lin Y-R, Shenag Y-C, Chen G-Y (2018) Simultaneous drug delivery and cellular imaging using graphene oxide. Biomater Sci 6: 813–819

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chua CK, Pumera M (2014) Chemical reduction of graphene oxide: a synthetic chemistry viewpoint. Chem Soc Rev 43:291–312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Sousa M, de Luna LAV, Fonseca LC, Giorgio S, Alves OL (2018) Folic-acid-functionalized graphene oxide nanocarrier: synthetic approaches, characterization, drug delivery study, and antitumor screening. ACS Appl Nano Mater 1(2):922–932

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eda G, Lin Y-Y, Mattevi C, Yamaguchi H, Chen H-A, Chen I-S, Chen C-W, Chhowalla M (2009) Blue photoluminescence from chemically derived graphene oxide. Adv Mater 21:1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Eizenberg M, Blakely JM (1979) Carbon monolayer phase condensation on Ni(111). Surf Sci 82(1):228–236

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emadi F, Amini A, Gholami A, Ghasemi Y (2017) Functionalized graphene oxide with chitosan for protein nanocarriers to protect against enzymatic cleavage and retain collagenase activity. Sci Rep 7:42258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo CX, Yang HB, Sheng ZM, Lu ZS, Song QL, Li CM (2010) Layered graphene/quantum dots for photovoltaic devices. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 49(17):3014–3017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurunathan S, Han JW, Dayem AA, Eppakayala V, Kim J-H (2012) Oxidative stress-mediated antibacterial activity of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Int J Nanomedicine 7:5901–5914

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurunathan S, Han JW, Eppakayala V, Kim J-H (2013) Green synthesis of graphene and its cytotoxic effects in human breast cancer cells. Int J Nanomedicine 8:1015–1027

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han G, Liu Y, Kan E, Tang J, Zhang L, Wang H, Tang W (2014) Sandwich-structured MnO2/polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide hybrid composites for high-performance supercapacitors. RSC Adv 4:9898–9904

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han C, Chen Z, Zhang N, Colmenares JC, Xu YJ (2015) Hierarchically CdS decorated 1D ZnO nanorods 2D graphene hybrids: low temperature synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance. Adv Funct Mater 25(2):221–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hong X, Fu J, Liu Y, Li S, Wang X, Dong W, Yang S (2019) Recent progress on graphene/polyaniline composites for high-performance supercapacitors. Materials (Basel) 12(9):1451

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu W, Peng C, Lv M, Li X, Zhang Y, Chen N, Fan C, Huang Q (2011) Protein corona-mediated mitigation of cytotoxicity of graphene oxide. ACS Nano 5(5):3693–3700

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu S-H, Chen Y-W, Hung W-T, Chen I-W, Chen S-Y (2012) Quantum-dot-tagged reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for bright fluorescence bioimaging and photothermal therapy monitored in situ. Adv Mater 24:1748–1754

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Yin ZY, Wu SX, Qi XY, He QY, Zhang QC, Yan QY, Boey F, Zhang H (2011) Graphene-based materials: synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications. Small 7:1876–1902

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Qi X, Boey F, Zhang H (2012) Graphene-based composites. Chem Soc Rev 41:666–686

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hummers WS, Offeman RE (1958) Preparation of graphitic oxide. J Am Chem Soc 80:1339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ibhadon AO, Fitzpatrick P (2013) Heterogeneous photocatalysis: recent advances and applications. Catalysts 3(1):189–218

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jia Y, Cao A, Bai X, Li Z, Zhang L, Guo N, Wei J, Wang K, Zhu H, Wu D, Ajayan PM (2011) Achieving high efficiency silicon-carbon nanotube heterojunction solar cells by acid doping. Nano Lett 11(5):1901–1905

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin SH, Kim DH, Jun GH, Hong SH, Jeon S (2013) Tuning the photoluminescence of graphene quantum dots through the charge transfer effect of functional groups. ACS Nano 7(2): 1239–1245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan M, Tahir MN, Adil SF, Khan HU, Siddiqui MRH, Al-Warthan AA, Tremel W (2015) Graphene based metal and metal oxide nanocomposites: synthesis, properties and their applications. J Mater Chem A 3:18753–18808

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan K, Tareen AK, Aslam M, Zhang Y, Wang R, Ouyang Z, Gou Z, Zhang H (2019) Recent advances in two-dimensional materials and their nanocomposites in sustainable energy conversion applications. Nanoscale 11:21622–21678

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kwon OS, Park SJ, Hong J-Y, Han A-R, Lee JS, Lee JS, Oh JH, Jang J (2012) Flexible FET-type VEGF aptasensor based on nitrogen-doped graphene converted from conducting polymer. ACS Nano 6(2):1486–1493

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee C, Wei XD, Kysar JW, Hone J (2008) Measurement of the elastic properties and intrinsic strength of monolayer graphene. Science 321:385–388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JH, Shin YC, Jin OS, Kang SH, Hwang Y-S, Park J-C, Hong SW, Han D-W (2015) Reduced graphene oxide-coated hydroxyapatite composites stimulate spontaneous osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Nanoscale 7:11642–11651

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Zhi L (2018) Graphene hybridization for energy storage applications. Chem Soc Rev 47:3189–3216

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li N, Cao M, Hu C (2012) Review on the latest design of graphene-based inorganic materials. Nanoscale 4:6205–6218

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Robinson JT, Sun X, Dai H (2008) PEGylated nanographene oxide for delivery of water-insoluble cancer drugs. J Am Chem Soc 130(33):10876–10877

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Zeng TH, Hofmann M, Burcombe E, Wei J, Jiang R, Kong J, Chen Y (2011a) Antibacterial activity of graphite, graphite oxide, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide: membrane and oxidative stress. ACS Nano 5(9):6971–6980

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu K, Zhang J-J, Cheng F-F, Zheng T-T, Wang C, Zhu J-J (2011b) Green and facile synthesis of highly biocompatible graphene nanosheets and its application for cellular imaging and drug delivery. J Mater Chem 21:12034–12040

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu M, Zhang R, Chen W (2014) Graphene-supported nanoelectrocatalysts for fuel cells: synthesis, properties, and applications. Chem Rev 114(10):5117–5160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu Z-J, Bao S-J, Gou Y-T, Cai C-J, Ji C-C, Xu M-W, Song J, Wang R (2013) Nitrogen-doped reduced-graphene oxide as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in fuel cells. RSC Adv 3:3990–3995

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo B, Liu G, Wang L (2016) Recent advances in 2D materials for photocatalysis. Nanoscale 8:6904–6920

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mao S, Yu K, Chang J, Steeber DA, Ocola LE, Chen J (2013) Direct growth of vertically-oriented graphene for field-effect transistor biosensor. Sci Rep 3:1696

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martha S, Sahoo PC, Parida KM (2015) An overview on visible light responsive metal oxide based photocatalysts for hydrogen energy production. RSC Adv 5:61535–61553

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mermin ND (1968) Crystalline order in two dimensions. Phys Rev 176:250–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nair RR, Blake P, Grigorenko AN, Novoselov KS, Booth TJ, Stauber T, Peres NMR, Geim AK (2008) Fine structure constant defines visual transparency of graphene. Science 320:1308–1308

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Kim K-S (2019a) Black phosphorus nanomaterials as multi-potent and emerging platforms against bacterial infections. Microb Pathog 137:103800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Kim K-S (2019b) Nanomaterials as delivery vehicles and components of new strategies to combat bacterial infections: advantages and limitations. Microorganisms 7:356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Bera S, Bhattacharya R, Saha P, Roy SS, Sen T, Jana S (2016a) Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of Ag incorporated ZnO–graphene nanocomposites. RSC Adv 6:88751–88761

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Bera S, Bhattacharya R, Roy SS, Jana S (2016b) Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity of polyethylene glycol coupled zinc oxide-chemically converted graphene nanocomposite on human OAW42 ovarian cancer cells. Polym Adv Technol 27:436

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Khan H, Jana S (2017a) Cobalt doped ZnO-graphene nanocomposite: synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity on water borne bacteria. Adv Nano Bio Mater Devices 1(4):182–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Khan H, Bera S, Jana S (2017b) Soft chemical synthesis, characterization and interaction of ZnO graphene nanocomposite with bovine serum albumin protein. J Mol Liq 237:113–119

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Khan H, Sarkar R, Kumar S, Halder D, Jana S (2018a) Anti-biofilm activity and food packaging application of room temperature solution process based polyethylene glycol capped Ag-ZnO-graphene nanocomposite. Mater Sci Eng C 91:743–753

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Khan H, Jana S (2018b) Cr doped ZnO-graphene nanocomposite: one pot room temperature synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity on mesophilic bacterial cells. Biointerface Res Appl Chem 8(6):3764–3769

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskar A, Bera S, Bhattacharya R, Roy SS, Jana S (2018c) Effect of bovine serum albumin immobilized Au-ZnO-graphene nanocomposite on human ovarian cancer cell. J Alloys Compd 734:66–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nika DL, Pokatilov EP, Askerov AS, Balandin AA (2009) Phonon thermal conduction in graphene: role of umklapp and edge roughness scattering. Phys Rev B 79:155413

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Novoselov KS, Geim AK, Morozov SV, Jiang D, Zhang Y, Dubonos SV, Grigorieva IV, Firsov AA (2004) Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films. Science 306(5696):666–669

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pattnaik S, Swain K, Lin Z (2016) Graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites: biomedical applications and biosafety. J Mater Chem B 4:7813–7831

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poot M, Van Der Zant HSJ (2008) Nanomechanical properties of few-layer graphene membranes. Appl Phys Lett 92:063111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy CD, Rajendran S, Liew KM (2006) Equilibrium configuration and continuum elastic properties of finite sized graphene. Nanotechnology 17:864–870

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rehman MA, Akhtar I, Choi W, Akbar K, Farooq A, Hussain S, Shehzad MA, Chun S-H, Jung J, Seo Y (2018) Influence of an Al2O3 interlayer in a directly grown graphene-silicon Schottky junction solar cell. Carbon 132:157–164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saifullah B, Buskaran K, Shaikh RB, Barahuie F, Fakurazi S, Mohd Moklas MA, Hussein MZ (2018) Graphene oxide-PEG-protocatechuic acid nanocomposite formulation with improved anticancer properties. Nanomaterials (Basel) 8(10):E820

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shashurin A, Keidar M (2015) Synthesis of 2D materials in arc plasmas. J Phys D Appl Phys 48:314007

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi X, Gong H, Li Y, Wang C, Cheng L, Liu Z (2013) Graphene-based magnetic plasmonic nanocomposite for dual bioimaging and photothermal therapy. Biomaterials 34(20):4786–4793

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun W, Wu FG (2018) Two-dimensional materials for antimicrobial applications: graphene materials and beyond. Chem Asian J 13(22):3378–3410

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Y, Zheng G, Seh ZW, Liu N, Wang S, Sun J, Lee HR, Cui Y (2016) Graphite-encapsulated Li-metal hybrid anodes for high-capacity Li batteries. Chem 1(2):287–297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Syama S, Mohanan PV (2019) Comprehensive application of graphene: emphasis on biomedical concerns. Nano-Micro Lett 11:6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tour JM (2014) Top-down versus bottom-up fabrication of graphene-based electronics. Chem Mater 26(1):163–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyay RK, Soin N, Roy SS (2014) Role of graphene/metal oxide composites as photocatalysts, adsorbents and disinfectants in water treatment: a review. RSC Adv 4:3823–3851

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Li Z, Hu D, Lin C-T, Li J, Lin Y (2010a) Aptamer/graphene oxide nanocomplex for in situ molecular probing in living cells. J Am Chem Soc 132(27):9274–9276

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Cui L-F, Yang Y, Casalongue HS, Robinson JT, Liang Y, Cui Y, Dai H (2010b) Mn3O4-graphene hybrid as a high-capacity anode material for lithium ion batteries. J Am Chem Soc 132(40):13978–13980

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang C, Li J, Amatore C, Chen Y, Jiang H, Wang XM (2011) Gold nanoclusters and graphene nanocomposites for drug delivery and imaging of cancer cells. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 50(49):11644–11648

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wei L, Wang P, Yang Y, Zhan Z, Dong Y, Song W, Fan R (2018) Enhanced performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells by the introduction of graphene oxide into the TiO2 photoanode. Inorg Chem Front 5:54–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu C, Anusuyadevi PR, Aymonier C, Luque R, Marre S (2019) Nanostructured materials for photocatalysis. Chem Soc Rev 48:3868–3902

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yadav R, Subhash A, Chemmenchery N, Kandasubramanian B (2018) Graphene and graphene oxide for fuel cell technology. Ind Eng Chem Res 57(29):9333–9350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang K, Zhang S, Zhang G, Sun X, Lee S-T, Liu Z (2010) Graphene in mice: ultrahigh in vivo tumor uptake and efficient photothermal therapy. Nano Lett 10(9):3318–3323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yazdi GR, Iakimov T, Yakimova R (2016) Epitaxial graphene on SiC: a review of growth and characterization. Crystals 6:53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu C, Shi L, Yao Z, Li D, Majumdar A (2005) Thermal conductance and thermopower of an individual single-wall carbon nanotube. Nano Lett 5:1842–1846

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu D, Yang Y, Durstock M, Baek J-B, Dai L (2010) Soluble P3HT-grafted graphene for efficient bilayer-heterojunction photovoltaic devices. ACS Nano 4(10):5633–5640

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Lu Z, Zhao Q, Huang J, Shen H, Zhang Z (2011) Enhanced chemotherapy efficacy by sequential delivery of siRNA and anticancer drugs using PEI-grafted graphene oxide. Small 7(4):460–464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Zhang L, Zhou C (2013) Review of chemical vapor deposition of graphene and related applications. Acc Chem Res 46(10):2329–2339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Nan X, Shi W, Sun Y, Su H, He Y, Liu X, Zhang Z, Ge D (2017) Polydopamine-functionalized nanographene oxide: a versatile nanocarrier for chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Nanotechnology 28:295102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Y, Murali S, Cai W, Li X, Suk JW, Potts JR, Ruoff RS (2010) Graphene and graphene oxide: synthesis, properties and applications. Adv Mater 22(35):3906–3924

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Authors thankfully acknowledge UGC-RGNF and CSIR, Government of India, for providing the financial supports to the authors (AN and SB) during their doctoral research works.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sunirmal Jana .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Naskar, A., Bera, S., Jana, S. (2020). Graphene-Based Nanocomposites. In: Hussain, C., Thomas, S. (eds) Handbook of Polymer and Ceramic Nanotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10614-0_28-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10614-0_28-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10614-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10614-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Chemistry and Mat. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics