Graphene a potential catalyst?

[insane_alien]

I was writing up a bit on catalysts when a thought struck me, the reason metals are so good at catalysis is that the delocalised electrons make it pretty easy for chemicals to adsorb/desorb from the surface. an a sheet of graphene you have a similar set up with a plane of delocalised electrons.

 

i haven't seen any papers on the catalytic properties of graphene so maybe i'm wrong.

 

also, if i am right catalytic activity should be seen on carbon nanotubes and bucky balls as well.(and bucky balls would have excellent surface area/volume properties.

[John Cuthber]

Activated charcoal has been used as a catalyst so you might have a point.

[AbeMichelson]

Richard Blair at UCF is working on some graphene (as well as some other interesting materials) catalysts by creating defect sites, where the catalysis occurs in activated carbon.

Remember that graphene is semimetallic, meaning it has the conductivity of a metal, but not the same band structure. The electrons are really only fully delocalized along one direction, which is why in nanotubes you can have conducting and semiconducting. Interestingly, the electrons travel along /⁼\ differently than along ^\=_\ . I have not seen anything showing graphene bonding with anti-pi orbitals to create intermediates, which is key to most metallic catalysis. That being said, I wonder if you create experimental conditions to force this bonding (electric field?).