Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Nat Mater. 2011 Jun;10(6):424-8. doi: 10.1038/nmat3001. Epub 2011 Apr 10.
Integration of individual two-dimensional graphene sheets into macroscopic structures is essential for the application of graphene. A series of graphene-based composites and macroscopic structures have been recently fabricated using chemically derived graphene sheets. However, these composites and structures suffer from poor electrical conductivity because of the low quality and/or high inter-sheet junction contact resistance of the chemically derived graphene sheets. Here we report the direct synthesis of three-dimensional foam-like graphene macrostructures, which we call graphene foams (GFs), by template-directed chemical vapour deposition. A GF consists of an interconnected flexible network of graphene as the fast transport channel of charge carriers for high electrical conductivity. Even with a GF loading as low as ∼0.5 wt%, GF/poly(dimethyl siloxane) composites show a very high electrical conductivity of ∼10 S cm(-1), which is ∼6 orders of magnitude higher than chemically derived graphene-based composites. Using this unique network structure and the outstanding electrical and mechanical properties of GFs, as an example, we demonstrate the great potential of GF/poly(dimethyl siloxane) composites for flexible, foldable and stretchable conductors.
将个体二维石墨烯片整合到宏观结构中对于石墨烯的应用至关重要。最近，已经使用化学衍生的石墨烯片制造了一系列基于石墨烯的复合材料和宏观结构。然而，由于化学衍生的石墨烯片的质量低和/或层间结接触电阻高，这些复合材料和结构的导电性较差。在这里，我们报告了通过模板导向的化学气相沉积直接合成三维泡沫状石墨烯宏观结构，我们称之为石墨烯泡沫（GF）。GF 由相互连接的石墨烯柔性网络组成，作为载流子的快速传输通道，实现高电导率。即使 GF 的负载低至约 0.5wt%，GF/聚二甲基硅氧烷复合材料也表现出非常高的电导率约 10 S cm(-1)，比化学衍生的基于石墨烯的复合材料高约 6 个数量级。利用这种独特的网络结构和 GF 的出色的电和机械性能，例如，我们展示了 GF/聚二甲基硅氧烷复合材料在柔性、可折叠和可拉伸导体方面的巨大潜力。
