Preface

Advanced carbon materials represent the next scientific revolution, especially in the fields of nanotechnology, drug delivery, and materials sciences. Advanced carbon materials such as graphene, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are heavily researched nanostructures. Due to their outstanding physical properties, advanced carbon monoliths have been used in photovoltaic, environmental, energy, thermal, and electronic applications. The 21st century is considered the "scientific era of graphene," which is a form of carbon with desirable properties such as high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, strength, and permeability. Graphene is a material that conducts electricity and heat maximally, making it an ideal candidate for energy and thermal applications, respectively. The book includes comprehensive information on fabrication, emerging physical properties, and technological applications of advanced carbon materials.

The book is organized into three sections, each of which contains two detailed and comprehensive chapters. Section 1, "Advanced Carbon Materials: A Comprehensive Overview," includes Chapter 1, "Introductory Chapter: Introduction to Advanced Carbon Materials and Innovative Engineering Applications, and Chapter 2, "Advanced Carbon Materials: Base of 21st Century Scientific Innovations in Chemical, Polymer, Sensing and Energy Engineering."

Chapter 1 provides detailed insight into various forms of advanced carbon materials, including graphene, structural graphite, CNTs, diamond-like carbon (DLC), carbon foam, and fullerene. It discusses both physical properties and applications of advanced carbon materials. Chapter 2 reviews the conjugation of graphene with other 2D materials to produce further remarkable compounds appropriate for an extensive variety of applications. The chapter examines the uses and applications of advanced carbon materials in chemical, polymer, sensing, and energy engineering.

Section 2, "Sustainable Fabrication of Advanced Carbon Materials for Applied Applications," includes Chapter 3, "Carbon Nanotubes Integrated Hydroxyapatite Nano-Composite for Orthopaedic and Tissue Engineering Applications" and Chapter 4, "Advanced Carbon Materials for Sustainable and Emerging Applications."

Chapter 3 provides fabrication details for CNTs with significant physical properties for applied applications in orthopaedics and tissue engineering. Chapter 4 describes advanced carbon materials for sustainable applications in electronics, energy conservation, drug delivery, and more. These advanced materials are the future of sustainable energy production and storage devices owing to their capability to store energy on a large scale. In the near future, fuel cells will likely replace battery-based energy systems, and graphene sheets will be game-changers in microelectronics.

Section 3, "Electrochemistry of Advanced 2D Carbon Materials," includes Chapter 5, "Electrochemical Exfoliation of 2D Advanced Carbon Derivatives" and Chapter 6, "Carbon Nanotubes."

"Chapter 1, Introductory Chapter: Introduction to Advanced Carbon Materials and Innovative Engineering Applications" will have a detailed insight into various forms of advanced carbon materials especially graphene, structural graphite, carbon nanotubes, diamond-like carbon (DLC), carbon foam and fullerene, respectively. The chapter grants detailed insight into physical properties and applications of advanced carbons materials.

"Chapter 2: Advanced Carbon Materials: Base of 21st Century Scientific Innovations in Chemical, Polymer, Sensing and Energy Engineering" will have a detailed insight with respect to conjugation of graphene with other 2D material which will be developed to produce further remarkable compounds that make it appropriate for an extensive variety of applications. This chapter grants the utilization and applications of advanced carbons materials in chemical, polymer, sensing and energy engineering.

"Chapter 3: Carbon Nanotubes Integrated Hydroxyapatite Nano-Composite for Orthopaedic and Tissue Engineering Applications" will give fabrication details for Carbon nanotube with significant physical properties for applied applications in orthopaedics and tissue engineering.

"Chapter 4: Advanced Carbon Materials for Sustainable and Emerging Applications" will describe in-depth details of advanced carbon materials as a sustainable prospectus. Advance carbon nanomaterials are receiving a lot of attention from scientific research in the last few years owing to their unique mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical and electrical properties. Advanced carbon nanomaterials, comprising of graphene, fullerene, carbon fibers, activated carbon and carbon nanotubes are considered as the backbone of material science and technological innovation. These nanomaterials are fabricated by using different physical and chemical methods to get high materials with excellent characteristics. Advanced carbon materials also find applications in electronics, organic photovoltaic, energy conservation technology and drug delivery, etc. In the future, these advanced materials can be used to develop several materials with different applications. A lot of research is taking place for producing these materials on the industrial level. These advanced materials are the future of sustainable energy production and storage devices owing to their capability to store energy on large scale. Fuel cells also in the near future are thought to replace battery-based energy systems. Graphene sheets may have the potential to be a game-changing use in microelectronics. The demand for advanced carbon materials will continue to grow for technological innovation.

Chapter 5 talks about advanced 2D carbon materials such as graphene and its derivatives, which are basic building blocks for future nanostructures in electronics and energy owing to their remarkable physical and chemical properties. A variety of techniques have been employed to develop 2D advanced carbon materials, including state-of-the-art synthetic protocols like electrochemical exfoliation, which provides high yield, great performance, low cost, and excellent scalability. Notably, playing with electrochemical parameters not only allows tuneable properties but also enhances the content variety from graphene to a wide spectrum of 2D semiconductors. This chapter provides a succinct and comprehensive survey of recent progress in electrochemical exfoliation routes and presents the processing techniques, strategic design for exfoliations, mechanisms, and electrochemistry of graphene.

Chapter 6 describes CNTs, also referred to as carbon nano-architecture allotropes, with wrapped graphene sheets forming a cylindrical structure. CNTs are either developed by metals or narrow-band semiconductors with rolling graphene sheets in various ways. CNTs possess certain peculiar properties, such as a high degree of stiffness, wide ratio of length to diameter, and remarkable toughness, and are employed in several applications. These properties can be enhanced by scheming the diameter, nature of walls, chirality, and length depending on the synthesis process. This chapter examines the various properties of CNTs and explains numerous methods of synthesis and processing of CNTs, comparing advantages and drawbacks.

I acknowledge the Higher Education Commission Start Up Research Grant (2410) for financial support. I am deeply thankful to my coeditor, Professor Emeritus Dr. Asghari Maqsood, for expert advice and critical comments. I am thankful for the support of my family, without which this book would not have been possible.

> **Dr. Mujtaba Ikram** Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (ICET), University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

#### **Dr. Asghari Maqsood**

Professor, Department of Physics, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan

## Section 1
