Interfacial Engineering by Proteins: Exfoliation and Functionalization of Graphene by Hydrophobins

摘要

Graphene has attracted vast interest as a new material with many uses. Two-dimensional, crystalline graphene has many advantageous properties, such as extremely high electric and thermal conductivity, high strength, and a large surface area. Many more useful properties can result from graphene assemblies and modification by different functionalities or additional molecules. One of the usual ways to functionalize graphene is chemical modification; however, attempts to modify the surface of graphene in a noncovalent, nondestructive way have also been successful. These methods typically involve the buildup of charge on the graphene surface to enable the stabilization and assembly of the graphene sheets on the basis of electrostatic interactions.181 In a further step towards more complex functionalities, we have now modified graphene with more specifically interacting coatings consisting of biomolecules.