New method 'sttiches' together rGO sheets into ultra-strong films

A team of researchers from China has reported a novel strategy to ‘stitch’ together reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets into ultra-strong, tough, and highly conductive graphene films using only small amounts of cross-linker. They show that the bridging of long-chain π-π bonding agent between neighboring rGO nanosheets can provide substantial improvement in multiple properties including tensile strength, toughness, electrical conductivity, EMI shielding capability, and resistance to mechanical damage.

“Our graphene films not only demonstrate a record tensile strength of almost 1.1 GPa, but exceptional abilities to absorb mechanical energy, transport charge, and shield electromagnetic interference that are comparable to or even superior to graphene films annealed at much higher temperatures,” says Qunfeng Cheng, a professor at Beihang University in Beijing. “Our process uses abundant natural graphite as a raw material at room temperature. This novel strategy can provide an inspiration for converting low-priced graphite powders into much higher performance macroscopic graphene films for diverse commercial uses in the future.”