CHEMICAL PRODUCTION OF FUNCTIONALIZED GRAPHENE FOR ENHANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS


Fall 2009

Timothy Swager
Department of Chemistry

Graphene, a sheet of carbon one atom thick, is the thinnest and strongest known material. There are many commercial applications where graphene could be used as part of a composite material such as in electronic packaging for organic electronics, gas-transport barrier agents, materials for the semiconductor industry, and food and beverage packaging. The challenge is to produce graphene economically in large quantities. This project will develop a chemical process to produce graphene at a very reasonable cost which would allow the manufacture of a new class and exciting materials and products.