PROJECT

IN

CHEMISTRY (043)
CBSE CLASS XII

Submitted by

BHAVESH BUDHARAJU
Reg. No: __________________

ACADEMIC YEAR : 2021-22

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project Report is a bonafide record submitted by
_Bhavesh Budharaju_ of class XII in the academic year 2021 – 2022.
The project has been submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Chemistry Project conducted by Christ Academy CBSE school.

Date: Teacher in Charge

Internal Examiner External Examiner

PRINCIPAL
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I solemnly take the opportunity to thank all the helping hands who made
me to complete this project. First of all, I thank the Almighty for keeping me hale and
healthy in order to successfully complete my work.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Fr. Joice, Principal of Christ

Academy, for permitting me to carry out the project and for the facilities provided for the
fulfilment of this project work.

I am greatly indebted to Mrs. Shwetha Thirumeni, Teacher in Chemistry

who gave me immense support and guidance throughout the completion of this project.

Last but not the least, I express my heartiest thanks to my lovable parents and
friends for their prayers, suggestions and encouragement for the successful completion of
the project.
 CONTENTS

 ABSTRACT

 INTRODUCTION

 SYNTHESIS OF GRAPHENE

 APPLICATIONS OF GRAPHENE

 CONCLUSION

 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 ABSTRACT

Graphene, a one-atom thick planar sheet of sp2 bonded carbon atoms with a molecular bond
length of 0.142 nanometres packed in a honeycomb lattice, is considered to be the mother of
all graphitic materials like fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphite. Graphene has created
tremendous interest to both physicists and chemists due to its various fascinating properties,
both observed and predicted with possible potential applications in nanoelectronics,
supercapacitors, solar cells, batteries, flexible displays, hydrogen storage, and sensors.

Graphene is the thinnest compound known to man at one

atom thick, the lightest material known
(with 1 square meter weighing around 0.77 milligrams),

The strongest compound discovered(between 100-300

times stronger than steel with a tensile strength of 130
GigaPascal).

The best conductor of heat at room temperature and also

the best conductor of electricity known.

Carbon is the second most abundant mass within the human body and the fourth most
abundant element in the universe (by mass), after hydrogen, helium and oxygen. This makes
carbon the chemical basis for all known life on earth, making graphene potentially an eco-
friendly, sustainable solution for an almost limitless number of applications .
 INTRODUCTION
In 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov created graphene using nothing but graphite
and scotch tape. They placed a graphite flake onto the tape, folded it in two and then cleaved
the flake in half. They repeated this procedure a number of times and then studied the
resulting fragments.
To their astonishment they found some of the pieces were only a single atom thick and this is
called "Graphene".

This was particularly unexpected because it was thought a single layer of graphite would not
be chemically stable, especially at room temperature. Graphene conducts electrons faster than
any other substance at room temperature. This is because of the extraordinarily high quality
of the graphene lattice. Scientists are yet to find a single atom out of place in graphene. Since
the electrons aren't scattered by defects in the lattice, they go so fast that Einstein's relativity
must be used to understand their motion. And this perfect lattice is created by the very strong
yet flexible bonds between carbon atoms -- making the substance bendable but harder than
diamond.
Graphene in incredibly strong -- if you could balance an elephant on a pencil and support
the pencil on graphene, the graphene wouldn't break.

Graphene is technically a non-metal but is often referred to as a quasi-metal due to its

properties being like that of a semi-conducting metal. Each carbon atom is covalently bonded
(sp2 hybridized) to three other carbon atoms in a hexagonal array, leaving one free electron
per each carbon atom.
This free electron exists in a p-orbital that sits above the plane of the material. Each hexagon
in the graphene sheet exhibits two pi-electrons, which are delocalized, allowing for an
efficient conduction of electricity.

The holes in the structure also allow phonons to pass through unimpeded, which gives rise to
a high thermal conductivity.
 SYNTHESIS OF GRAPHENE

There are 3 main ways to synthesize graphene, they are:

 Chemical Vapor Deposition

 Mechanical cleavage from natural Graphite
 Hummers method(Modified)

ADHESIVE TAPE : (Mechanical Exfoliation)

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov initially used adhesive tape to split graphite into
graphene. Achieving single layers typically requires multiple exfoliation steps, each
producing a slice with fewer layers, until only one remains.
This process is Not a feasible method of synthesis
Graphene can also be fully synthetic but those methods haven’t proven to be commercially
viable.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Graphene Films:

Graphene films can be produced by varying

methods, which include mechanical and thermal
exfoliation, chemical reduction and epitaxial
growth; but the most common method used in
production today is by chemical vapor deposition
(CVD)

The CVD process involves a thin metal substrate that is placed into a heated furnace at high
temperatures (900 to 1000°C) and in low vacuum. Decomposed methane gas then supplies
the carbon and hydrogen gases needed to flow through a chamber to cause a reaction between
methane and the surface of the metal film
One substrate that is known to produce high-quality graphene is copper. Copper acts as both a
catalyst and the substrate. The copper bonds to the carbon atoms, which provides strong
carbon-substrate interactions, allowing for a single graphene layer to be easily formed on the
surface. Copper oxide can also be inserted between layers of graphene, making it an easy
process to remove a single layer.
The chamber is then set with a fast cooling rate to suppress the formation of multiple layers
and separate the graphene layers from the substrate
REACTIONS:

CH4 on Copper at High Temperature NUCLEATION Graphene growth

CH4 C (Graphene) + 2H2

NANOTUBE SLICING:
Graphene can be created by cutting open carbon nanotubes.[98] In one such method multi-
walled carbon nanotubes are cut open in solution by action of potassium
permanganate and sulfuric acid.

C (Nanotubes) + KMnO4 + H2SO4 C(Graphene)

HUMMERS METHOD:
Occurs in three steps:

OXIDATION
Natural Graphite flake is mixed with strong acid such as H2SO4/ HNO3 followed by
continuous stirring in ice bath.
Then KMnO4 is added and stirred at room temperature.
Then the solution is kept overnight after adding DI water and H2O2.
Centrifugation is processed
Ultrasonication is processed to get a single layer of GO(graphene oxide).

Reactions:
C(Graphite) + H2SO4 + KMnO4 X
X + H2O2 + DI H2O GO (Graphene Oxide)
REDUCTION
Addition of certain reducing agents such as Hydrazine
or NaBH4 is made to the measured solution.
The attached functional groups are removed and certain
polar aprotic solvents are used for exfoliation

POST TREATMENT
The solution is filtered and washed with DI water to neutralise the solution
The product is dried and grinded
 APPLICATIONS OF GRAPHENE

There are many applications of graphene,

Some of them are:

1. SENSORS
An ideal sensor can detect minute changes in its surrounding environment.

Due to the planar and consistent arrangement of atoms in a graphene sheet, every atom
within the sheet is exposed to the surrounding environment .This allows graphene to
effectively detect changes in its surroundings at micrometer dimensions, providing a high
degree of sensitivity.

graphene could be used in sensors in various fields including bio-sensors, diagnostics,

field effect transistors, DNA sensors and gas sensors, to name a few.

2. BATTERIES

Graphene can be incorporated into both the

anode or the cathode in various battery systems
to increase the efficiency of the battery and
improve the charge/discharge cycle rate.

(Graphene Enhanced Batteries)

3. STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES

Graphene is incorporated into various composites for applications where strength and
weight are limiting factors, for example in the aerospace industry.

4. FUNCTIONAL INKS

Graphene can be used in functional inks for electronic, heat resistant and anti-corrosion
purposes. By incorporating graphene into ink formulations, the conductivity properties
associated with graphene influence the ink, causing it to become conductive.
The inks can then be used to coat electronics. Compared to other conducting inks,
graphene is non-toxic, environmentally friendly and recyclable.

5. WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEMS

6. TISSUE REGENERATION
 CONCLUSION

Consider this as only one aspect of nanotechnology:

“In order to think big , you need first consider the very small”
In summary, this discovery by a physics professor and his PhD student in a laboratory in
Manchester, where they used a piece of graphite and some Scotch tape has completely
revolutionized the way we look at potential limits of our abilities as innovators.
The possibilities of what we can achieve with the materials and knowledge we have, have
been blown wide open, and it is now conceivable to imagine such amazing prospective
situations as lightning fast, yet super-small computers, invisibility cloaks, smart phones that
last weeks between charges, and computers that we can fold up and carry in our pockets
wherever we go.
However, the production of inexpensive and ultrapure pristine graphene layers are still a
matter of deep research. So, an easy and adorable route for graphene production is an
inordinate challenge or the material scientists.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The sources of this project were gathered from:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PifL8bAybyc&ab_channel=Veritasium

 https://www.cheaptubes.com/graphene-synthesis-properties-and-applications/

 https://www.graphenea.com/pages/graphene#.Yi3de3pBy3A

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene_production_techniques#:~:text=Graphene%2
0can%20be%20created%20by,embedded%20in%20a%20polymer%20film.