Large-scale fabrication of graphene-based thin film for water-treatment and energy-storage applications

Abstract

Prompted by the discovery of some of the unique properties of graphene, ultra-thin films of graphene have also attracted considerable attention in recent years, both from an experimental and theoretical perspective. However, one of the major challenges in this field is to formulate robust, scalable approaches to the production of large-area graphene-based films that could bridge the gap between laboratory curiosity and industrial productivity. by taking advantage of the flow alignment of the nematic phase liquid crystals, it was demonstrated that the nematic phase of graphene oxide (GO) can be shear aligned to form highly ordered, continuous, thin films of multi-layered GO on a substrate using an industrially-adaptable method. The shear-aligned graphene-based film showed notable performance in water-treatment membrane and supercapacitor application.