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To address high fire risks of flamable cellulosic materials, that can trigger easy combustion, flame propagation, and release of toxic gases, we report a new fire-retardant approach using synergetic actions combining unique properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and hydrated-sodium metaborates (SMB). The single-step treatment of cellulosic materials by a composite suspension of rGO/SMB was developed to create a barrier layer on sawdust surface providing highly effective fire retardant protection with multiple modes of action. These performances are designed considering synergy between properties of hydrated-SMB crystals working as chemical heat-sink to slow down the thermal degradation of the cellulosic particles and gas impermeable rGO layers that prevents access of oxygen and the release of toxic volatiles. The rGO outer layer also creates a thermal and physical barrier by donating carbon between the flame and unburnt wood particles. The fire-retardant performance of developed graphene-borate composite and mechanism of fire protection are demonstrated by testing of different forms of cellulosic materials such as pine sawdust, particle-board, and fiber-based structures. Results revealed their outstanding self-extinguishing behavior with significant resistance to release of toxic and flammable volatiles suggesting rGO/SMB to be suitable alternative to the conventional toxic halogenated flame-retardant materials.

Adhesion behavior of superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces is an active research field related to various engineering applications in controlled microdroplet transportation, self-cleaning, deicing, biochemical separation, tissue engineering, and water harvesting. Herein, we report a facile approach to control droplet adhesion, bouncing and rolling on properties of SH surfaces by tuning their air-gap and roughness-height by altering the concentrations of poly dimethyl-siloxane (PDMS). The optimal use of PDMS (4-16 wt %) in a dual-scale (nano- and microparticles) composite enables control of the specific surface area (SSA), pore volume, and roughness of matrices that result in a well-controlled adhesion between water droplets and SH surfaces. The sliding angles of these surfaces were tuned to be varied between 2 ± 1 and 87 ± 2°, which are attributed to the transformation of the contact type between droplet and surface from "point contact" to "area contact". We further explored the effectiveness of these low and high adhesive SH surfaces in icing and deicing actions, which provides a new insight into design highly efficient and low-cost ice-release surface for cold temperature applications. Low adhesion (lotus effect) surface with higher pore-volume exhibited relatively excellent ice-release properties with significant icing delay ability principally attributed to the large air gap in the coating matrix than SH matrix with high adhesion (petal effect).

Here, we report a new method to prepare graphene from graphite by the liquid phase exfoliation process with sonication using graphene oxide (GO) as a dispersant. It was found that GO nanosheets act a as surfactant to the mediated exfoliation of graphite into a GO-adsorbed graphene complex in the aqueous solution, from which graphene was separated by an additional process. The preparation of isolated graphene from a single to a few layers is routinely achieved with an exfoliation yield of up to higher than 40% from the initial graphite material. The prepared graphene sheets showed a high quality (C/O ∼ 21.5), low defect (ID/IG ∼ 0.12), and high conductivity (6.2 × 10(4) S/m). Moreover, the large lateral size ranging from 5 to 10 μm of graphene, which is believed to be due to the shielding effect of GO avoiding damage under ultrasonic jets and cavitation formed by the sonication process. The thin graphene film prepared by the spray-coating technique showed a sheet resistance of 668 Ω/sq with a transmittance of 80% at 550 nm after annealing at 350 °C for 3 h. The transparent electrode was even greater with the resistance only 66.02 Ω when graphene is deposited on an interdigitated electrode (1 mm gap). Finally, a flexible sensor based on a graphene spray-coating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is demonstrated showing excellent performance working under human touch pressure (<10 kPa). The graphene prepared by this method has some distinct properties showing it as a promising material for applications in electronics including thin film coatings, transparent electrodes, wearable electronics, human monitoring sensors, and RFID tags.

Superhydrophobic surfaces for self-cleaning applications often suffer from mechanical instability and do not function well after abrasion/scratching. To address this problem, we present a method to prepare graphene-based superhydrophobic composite coatings with robust mechanical strength, self-cleaning, and barrier properties. A suspension has been formulated that contains a mixture of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and diatomaceous earth (DE) modified with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that can be applied on any surface using common coating methods such as spraying, brush painting, and dip coating. Inclusion of TiO2 nanoparticles to the formulation shows further increase in water contact angle (WCA) from 159 ± 2° to 170 ± 2° due to the structural improvement with hierarchical surface roughness. Mechanical stability and durability of the coatings has been achieved by using a commercial adhesive to bond the superhydrophobic "paint" to various substrates. Excellent retention of superhydrophobicity was observed even after sandpaper abrasion and crosscut scratching. A potentiodynamic polarization study revealed excellent corrosion resistance (96.78%) properties, and an acid was used to provide further insight into coating barrier properties. The ease of application and remarkable properties of this graphene-based composite coating show considerable potential for broad application as a self-cleaning and protective layer.

A simple synthetic approach for the preparation of graphene-diatom silica composites in the form of self-assembled aerogels with three-dimensional networks from natural graphite and diatomite rocks is demonstrated for the first time. Their adsorption performance for the removal of mercury from water was studied as a function of contact time, solution pH, and mercury concentration to optimize the reaction conditions. The adsorption isotherm of mercury fitted well with the Langmuir model, representing a very high adsorption capacity of >500 mg of mercury/g of adsorbent. The prepared aerogels exhibited outstanding adsorption performance for the removal of mercury from water, which is significant for environmental applications.

Arsenic (As) is the world's most hazardous chemical found in drinking water of many countries; therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of low-cost adsorbents for its removal. Here, we report a highly versatile and synthetic route for the preparation of a three-dimensional (3D) graphene-iron oxide nanoparticle aerogel composite for the efficient removal of As from contaminated water. This unique three-dimensional (3D) interconnected network was prepared from natural graphite rocks with a simple reaction, without the use of harsh chemicals, which combines with the exfoliation of graphene oxide (GO) sheets via the reduction of ferrous ion to form a graphene aerogel composite decorated with iron oxide nanoparticles. The prepared adsorbent showed outstanding absorption performance for the removal of As from contaminated water, because of its high surface-to-volume ratio and characteristic pore network in the 3D architecture. The performed case study using real drinking water contaminated with As under batch conditions showed successful removal of arsenic to the concentration recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).