Potential of nanoporous graphene and functionalized nanoporous graphene derived nanocomposites for environmental membranes – a review

Abstract

Nanoporous graphene own high surface area and unique structural and physical properties due to nano-sized pores in graphene nanosheet. Nanoporous graphene has been modified by the introduction of surface functional groups, doping, or nanoparticle modification and applied for nanocomposites. The overview basically highlights design, properties, and potential of functionalized nanoporous graphene derived nanocomposites in advanced membranes (desalination/gas/oil separation), thermal management, electrocatalysts, and micro-supercapacitors. According to literature, pore size of neat nanoporous graphene is 3–11 Å and hydroxyl functional nanoporous graphene also had nanopore size of <10 Å. Functionalized nanoporous graphene revealed 100% salt rejection, while hydroxyl functional nanoporous graphene had 89% salt rejection due to altered surface properties. Both neat and functionalized nanoporous graphene has high gas permeance of ∼103–105 GPU towards separation CO2, CH4, N2, etc. Few attempts on micro-supercapacitor like molybdenum disulfide nanoporous graphene resulted in volumetric capacitance of 55 F cm−3 and capacitance retention of 82%. Forthcoming research on functionalized nanoporous graphene may overcome design/performance challenges leading to superior features and large-scale utilizations.