Three-dimensional graphene-based structures: production methods, properties, and applications

Graphene, a two-dimensional (2D) sp2-hybridized carbon sheet, shows excellent chemical, mechanical, and physical properties owing to its unique structure, which makes it a great potential in the energy storage devices, sensors, composite materials, and biotechnology. The utilization of graphene sheets into the macroscopic structures is one of the important issues since 2D graphene sheets tend to restack together in bulk materials due to strong π-π interactions and van der Waals forces. The aggregation of graphene sheets and their crumbling lead to a significant decrease in electrical conductivity, surface area, and mechanical strength which negatively affects the utilization of graphene in the practical applications. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) graphene materials have been attracting much attention since they not only preserve the intrinsic properties of 2D graphene sheets by inhibiting the agglomeration behavior of 2D graphene sheets but also provide advanced functions with improved performance in various applications. The content of this chapter covers (i) a brief summary of production techniques of 2D graphene and its drawbacks, (ii) main strategies for the development of 3D graphene structures, (iii) production methods, and (iv) possible applications of 3D graphene architectures in composites and energystorage devices