Carbocatalysis by Graphene-Based Materials

Carbons with large surface area such as active carbons and carbon black powders have since ever been considered as supports to deposit transition metals that were the relevant catalytic centers. In this type of materials the role of carbon is to disperse the metal on a very large surface area and maybe in the best case also adsorb reactants near the metal particles. In the case of carbocatalysts the key point is to incorporate the active sites into the carbon by suitable modifications, making metals unnecessary. The main purpose of the present review is to show the advantages and possibilities that G-mat offer in catalysis due to their 2D morphology and to the possibility of introducing heteroatoms and functional groups on the G sheet in such a way that they can act as catalytic center. Nevertheless, CVD techniques require specialized equipment and are still not routine in most of catalytic laboratories.