A method of producing graphene sheets directly from graphite mineral (graphite rock) powder, comprising: (a) forming an intercalated graphite compound by an electrochemical intercalation procedure conducted in an intercalation reactor, containing (i) a liquid solution electrolyte comprising an intercalating agent and a graphene plane-wetting agent dissolved therein; (ii) a working electrode that contains the graphite material powder as an active material; and (iii) a counter-electrode, and wherein a current is imposed upon the working electrode and counter electrode at a current density sufficient for effecting electrochemical intercalation of the intercalating agent and/or wetting agent into interlayer spacing, wherein the wetting agent is selected from melamine, ammonium sulfate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, Na(ethylenediamine), tetraalkyammonium, ammonia, carbamide, hexamethylenetetramine, organic amine, poly(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate), or a combination thereof; and (b) exfoliating and separating the intercalated graphite compound using ultrasonication, thermal shock exposure, and/or a mechanical shearing treatment to produce graphene sheets.

Methods of forming graphene may include reacting a dispersed mixture, comprising fly ash, a charged heteroaromatic compound, particularly a pyridinium compound, such as a 1-(4-pyridyl)-pyridinium salt, and a solvent, particularly an alcohol, such as ethanol, with a polymeric oxidizing agent, preferably polymer-supported pyridinium chlorochromate, to form a second mixture; and contacting the second mixture at a temperature of 120 to 180° C. with a gas stream comprising at least 0.1 vol. % CH.sub.4 and at least 10 vol. % H.sub.2 to form graphene on the fly ash. Methods of managing waste may comprise using fly ash waste to produce graphene. Devices for implementing such methods may involve steel cylindrical reaction vessels including a cover through which a valve-stoppable pipe is fed, which reaction vessel is at least partially surrounded by a heating device, and suitable for handling solvent and fly ash, as well as for receiving gas inflow through the pipe.

This disclosure provides a composition of matter nucleated from a homogenous nucleation to form a self-assembled binder-less mesoporous carbon-based particle. In some implementations, the composition includes: a plurality of electrically conductive 3D aggregates formed of graphene sheets and sintered together to define a 3D hierarchical open porous structure comprising mesoscale structuring with micron-scale fractal structuring and configured to provide an electrical conduction between contact points of the graphene sheets. A porous arrangement is formed in the 3D hierarchical open porous structure and is arranged to contain a liquid electrolyte configured to provide ion transport through a plurality of interconnected porous channels in the 3D hierarchical open porous structure. A respective porous channel of the plurality of porous channels includes: a first portion configured to provide tunable ion conduits; a second portion configured to facilitate rapid ion transport; and, a third portion configured to at least partially confine active material.

A method includes a graphene precursor formation process of: heating a SiC substrate to sublimate Si atoms in a Si surface of the SiC substrate so that a graphene precursor is formed; and stopping the heating before the graphene precursor is covered with graphene. A SiC substrate to be treated in the graphene precursor formation process is provided with a step including a plurality of molecular layers. The step has a stepped structure in which a molecular layer whose C atom has two dangling bonds is disposed closer to the surface than a molecular layer whose C atom has one dangling bond.

Methods include producing tunable carbon structures and combining carbon structures with a polymer to form a composite material. Carbon structures include crinkled graphene. Methods also include functionalizing the carbon structures, either in-situ, within the plasma reactor, or in a liquid collection facility. The plasma reactor has a first control for tuning the specific surface area (SSA) of the resulting tuned carbon structures as well as a second, independent control for tuning the SSA of the tuned carbon structures. The composite materials that result from mixing the tuned carbon structures with a polymer results in composite materials that exhibit exceptional favorable mechanical and/or other properties. Mechanisms that operate between the carbon structures and the polymer yield composite materials that exhibit these exceptional mechanical properties are also examined.

Provided is a method of producing isolated graphene sheets, comprising: (a) providing a reacting slurry containing a mixture of particles of a graphite or carbon material and an intercalant and/or an oxidizing agent; (b) providing one or a plurality of flow channels to accommodate the reacting slurry, wherein at least one of the flow channels has an internal wall surface and a volume and an internal wall-to-volume ratio of from 10 to 4,000; (c) moving the reacting slurry continuously or intermittently through at least one or a plurality of flow channels, enabling reactions between the graphite or carbon particles and the intercalant and/or oxidant to occur substantially inside the flow channels to form a graphite intercalation compound (GIC) or oxidized graphite (e.g. graphite oxide) or oxidized carbon material as a precursor material; and (d) converting the precursor material to isolated graphene sheets.

Provided is a vehicle heat exchanger including a plurality of tubes through which a fluid flows, a plurality of cooling fins interposed between adjacent tubes, and a graphene material attached to a surface of each tube and/or a surface of each cooling fin. The graphene material may include a first graphene layer and a second graphene layer stacked on the first graphene layer.

Systems and method for producing graphene on a substrate are described. Certain types of exemplar systems include lateral arrangements of a substrate gas scavenging environment and an annealing environment. Certain other types of exemplar systems include lateral arrangements of a graphene producing environment and a cooling environment, which cools the graphene produced on the substrate. Yet other types of exemplar systems include lateral arrangements of a localized annealing environment, localized graphene producing environment and a localized cooling environment inside the same enclosure. Certain type of exemplar methods for producing graphene on a substrate include scavenging a first portion of the substrate and preferably, contemporaneously annealing a second portion of the substrate. Certain other type of exemplar methods for producing graphene include novel annealing techniques and/or implementing temperature profiles and gas flow rate profiles that vary as a function of lateral distance and/or cooling graphene after producing it.

A electronic method, includes receiving, by a graphene structure, a microwave signal. The microwave signal has a driving voltage level. The electronic method includes generating, by the graphene structure, optical photons based on the microvolts. The electronic method includes outputting, by the graphene structure, the optical photons.

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.