abstract
Carbon nanostructures are widely used as fillers to tailor the mechanical, thermal, barrier, and electrical properties of polymeric matrices employed for a wide range of applications. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO), a carbon nanostructure from the graphene derivatives family, has been incorporated in composite materials due to its remarkable electrical conductivity, mechanical strength capacity, and low cost. Graphene oxide (GO) is typically synthesized by the improved Hummers' method and then chemically reduced to obtain rGO. However, the chemical reduction commonly uses toxic reducing agents, such as hydrazine, being environmentally unfriendly and limiting the final application of composites. Therefore, green chemical reducing agents and synthesis methods of carbon nanostructures should be employed. This paper reviews the state of the art regarding the green chemical reduction of graphene oxide reported in the last 3 years. Moreover, alternative graphitic nanostructures, such as carbons derived from biomass and carbon nanostructures supported on clays, are pointed as eco-friendly and sustainable carbonaceous additives to engineering polymer properties in composites. Finally, the application of these carbon nanostructures in polymer composites is briefly overviewed.
keywords
REDUCED GRAPHENE OXIDE; HYDROTHERMAL CARBON; SIMULTANEOUS REDUCTION; CHEMICAL-REDUCTION; SUPPORTED GRAPHENE; ENERGY-STORAGE; BIONANOCOMPOSITES; BIOMASS; CARBONIZATION; PERFORMANCE
subject category
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry
authors
Barra, A; Nunes, C; Ruiz-Hitzky, E; Ferreira, P
our authors
Ana Filipa Cardoso Barra
PhD Student
Cláudia Nunes
Assistant Researcher
Paula Celeste da Silva Ferreira
Coordinating ResearcherGroups
G2 - Photonic, Electronic and Magnetic Materials
G4 - Renewable Materials and Circular Economy
Projects
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)
Embalagens em biocompósitos para preservação ativa de alimentos (BIOFOODPACK)
Projeto de Investigação Exploratória: Paula Ferreira (IF_Paula Ferreira)
acknowledgements
This work was developed within the scope of the projects CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 and UIDP/50011/2020, and BIOFOODPACK (M-ERA-NET2/0021/2016). A.B. and P.F. are thankful to FCT for the grant SFRH/BD/148856/2019 and the Investigator FCT (IF/00300/2015), respectively. CN is grateful for Portuguese national funds (OE), through FCT, IP, within the scope of the framework contract foreseen in numbers 4, 5, and 6 of Article 23 of DecreeLaw 57/2016 of 29 August, changed by Law 57/2017 of 19 July. E.R.-H. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from AEI (Spain) and FEDER (EU) funds (projects MAT2015-71117-R and PID2019-105479RB-I00, respectively).