Published in Chemistry World, 8 Sep 2011
Graphene – a sheet of graphite just one atom thick – is often claimed to be a wonder material, thanks to its superlative mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. But now a group of UK chemists is claiming that, in an electrochemical setting, graphene is not such a wonder material after all. Contrary to the widely held view, the chemists think graphene electrodes are mostly ineffective at transferring electrons, implying that graphene is a poor choice for sensing applications.
Craig Banks and others at Manchester Metropolitan University came to the conclusion after having performed electrochemical experiments with various electrodes. Some of these electrodes were coated in a single graphene layer, some were coated in a graphene multi-layer, and some were left uncovered. Carefully measuring the current passing through the electrodes while changing the applied voltage, Banks’s group discovered that electron transfer in graphene occurs mostly around its edges and at any defects. ‘Given its geometric size, this means that it is largely unreactive,’ says Banks. […]
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