%0 Journal Article
%T A Comprehensive Review of Graphene Nanocomposites: Research Status and Trends
%A Vivek Dhand
%A Kyong Yop Rhee
%A Hyun Ju Kim
%A Dong Ho Jung
%J Journal of Nanomaterials
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/763953
%X This paper provides a comprehensive review of the present trends in graphene research with an emphasis on graphene-based nanocomposites and their applications. Various synthesis routes have recently been devised for mass production of graphene to address the needs of the composite industry. This paper describes the worldwide scenario of research and patents being conducted in the field of graphene nanocomposites. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of graphene in composites and the future challenges to meeting industrial demands. 1. Introduction to Graphene The single-layered atom-thick flatbed structure has revolutionized the nanotechnology platform since its discovery [1]. To date, several attempts have been made to synthesize graphene on a large scale to address the needs of various industries, particularly the composite industry, in which the use of graphene has dramatically transformed the global market for the production of state-of-the-art composite materials. The addition of graphene to a host matrix has achieved a number of enhanced properties with promising applications in many industries, such as aerospace, electronics, energy, structural and mechanical, environmental, medicine, and food and beverage. Since 2004, graphene has taken the nanotechnology platform by storm, with exponential growth in its applications. The remarkable properties of graphene make it a ˇ°magic bulletˇ± for the composite world. Several papers on graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites have been published. According to Geim [2], graphene research has reached an unexpectedly great height and has emerged as a champion in the field of applied sciences. A simple search in Web of Science, Google Scholar, or Science-Direct yields several thousands of papers on graphene. Since 2000, there have been a total of 23,945 research papers published on various synthesis methods and on isolation of graphene on a large scale. The numbers are still growing exponentially. An analysis using the Web of Science tool reveals that the majority of graphene publications come from countries of Asia, followed by Europe, the Americas (countries between Canada and Argentina), Australia, and Africa. Our record count analysis based on subject-wise publications found that the majority of the publications were published in the area of physics, followed by chemistry, materials science, technology-based topics, engineering, electrochemistry, polymer science, and many more. According to the latest report released by the BBC, ˇ°Graphene: Technologies, Applications and Markets,ˇ± the graphene
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnm/2013/763953/