Provided is a method of producing isolated graphene sheets directly from a carbon/graphite precursor. The method comprises: (a) providing a mass of halogenated aromatic molecules selected from halogenated petroleum heavy oil or pitch, coal tar pitch, polynuclear hydrocarbon, or a combination thereof; (b) heat treating this mass at a first temperature of 25 to 300° C. in the presence of a catalyst and optionally at a second temperature of 300-3,200° C. to form graphene domains dispersed in a disordered matrix of carbon or hydrocarbon molecules, and (c) separating and isolating the planes of hexagonal carbon atoms or fused aromatic rings to recover graphene sheets from the disordered matrix.

A process for treatment of nanoparticles of mineral filler for obtaining processed nanoparticles for use in polymerization in the presence of nanoparticles which includes the steps of (a) drying a mineral filler with an inert gas to remove catalyst poisons; (b) mixing the mineral filler dried obtained in step (a) with a swelling agent in a liquid state or near a critical state or in the supercritical state; (c) subjecting the swelling agent of the mixture obtained in step (b) to an endoenthalpic or isoentalphic phase change by altering the conditions of the temperature and/or pressure; (d) subjecting the nanoparticles of the mixture obtained in step (c) to contact of scavenging agent to react with catalyst poisons; then the mixture obtained in step (d) can be dried in a step (e) with an inert gas to remove sub-products from scavenging agent and catalyst poisons to obtain the treated nanoparticles.

A novel hybrid lithium-ion anode material based on coaxially coated Si shells on vertically aligned carbon nanofiber (CNF) arrays. The unique cup-stacking graphitic microstructure makes the bare vertically aligned CNF array an effective Li.sup.+ intercalation medium. Highly reversible Li.sup.+ intercalation and extraction were observed at high power rates. More importantly, the highly conductive and mechanically stable CNF core optionally supports a coaxially coated amorphous Si shell which has much higher theoretical specific capacity by forming fully lithiated alloy. Addition of surface effect dominant sites in close proximity to the intercalation medium results in a hybrid device that includes advantages of both batteries and capacitors.

A method of producing isolated graphene sheets from a layered graphite, comprising: (a) forming an alkali metal ion-intercalated graphite compound by an electrochemical intercalation which uses a liquid solution of an alkali metal salt dissolved in an organic solvent as both an electrolyte and an intercalate source, layered graphite material as an anode material, and a metal or graphite as a cathode material, and wherein a current is imposed upon a cathode and an anode at a current density for a duration of time sufficient for effecting the electrochemical intercalation of alkali metal ions into interlayer spacing; and (b) exfoliating and separating hexagonal carbon atomic interlayers (graphene planes) from the alkali metal ion-intercalated graphite compound using ultrasonication, thermal shock exposure, exposure to water solution, mechanical shearing treatment, or a combination thereof to produce isolated graphene sheets.

A transparent electrode with a transparent substrate and a composite layer disposed thereon, wherein the composite layer includes a graphene layer and a plurality of nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles are embedded in the graphene layer and extend through a thickness of the graphene layer, and wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are in direct contact with the transparent substrate and a gap is present between the graphene layer and the transparent substrate.

Provided herein are graphene materials, fabrication processes, and devices with improved performance and a high throughput. In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides graphene oxide (GO) materials and methods for forming GO materials. Such methods for forming GO materials avoid the shortcomings of current forming methods, to facilitate facile, high-throughput production of GO materials.

A method of producing isolated graphene sheets directly from a graphitic material, comprising: a) mixing multiple particles of a graphitic material and multiple particles of a solid carrier material to form a mixture in an impacting chamber of an energy impacting apparatus; b) operating the impacting apparatus for peeling off graphene sheets from the graphitic material and transferring these graphene sheets to surfaces of solid carrier material particles to produce graphene-coated solid particles inside the impacting chamber; c) separating the graphene sheets from the solid carrier material particle surfaces to recover isolated graphene sheets. The method enables production of graphene sheets directly from a graphitic material without going through a chemical intercalation or oxidation procedure. The process is fast (hours as opposed to days of conventional processes), has low or no water usage, environmentally benign, cost effective, and highly scalable.

A transparent electrode with a transparent substrate and a composite layer disposed thereon, wherein the composite layer includes a graphene layer and a plurality of nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles are embedded in the graphene layer and extend through a thickness of the graphene layer, and wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are in direct contact with the transparent substrate and a gap is present between the graphene layer and the transparent substrate.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to the large scale production of functionalized graphene. In some embodiments, a method for producing functionalized graphene includes combining a crystalline graphite with a first electrolyte solution that includes at least one of a metal hydroxide salt, an oxidizer, and a surfactant. The crystalline graphite is then milled in the presence of the first electrolyte solution for a first time period to produce a thinned intermediate material. The thinned intermediate material is combined with a second electrolyte solution that includes a strong oxidizer and at least one of a metal hydroxide salt, a weak oxidizer, and a surfactant. The thinned intermediate material is then milled in the presence of the second electrolyte solution for a second time period to produce functionalized graphene.

A transparent electrode with a transparent substrate and a composite layer disposed thereon, wherein the composite layer includes a graphene layer and a plurality of nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles are embedded in the graphene layer and extend through a thickness of the graphene layer, and wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are in direct contact with the transparent substrate and a gap is present between the graphene layer and the transparent substrate.