Graphene, a two dimensional monolayer carbon sheet with the atoms tightly packed in a hexagonal lattice, has exhibited so many excellent properties, which enable graphene to break several material records with regard to carrier mobility, strength yield and thermal conductivity to name a few. Therefore, graphene has been placed as a potential candidate to allow truly next-generation material. Graphene is a zero band gap material, implying that an energy band gap around the Dirac point is supposed to be open to make graphene applicable as a semiconductor. Covalent bond graphene functionalization becomes an essential enabler to open the energy gap in graphene and extend graphene applications in electronics, while the densely packed hexagonal carbon atoms as well as the strong sp2 hybridization carbon-carbon bonds jointly result in a changeling topic of allowing graphene to be decorated with functional groups. Here in this thesis, different routes to realize graphene functionalizations are implemented by using physical and chemical ways. The physical functionalization methods are the ion/electron beam induced graphene fluorination as well as local defect insertion and the chemical ways correspond to the photochemistry techniques to approach hydrogenation and hydroxypropylation of graphene. Furthermore, to incorporate graphene into devices, the tuning of mechanical properties of graphene is desired. Towards this aim, the structure modification of graphene is employed to investigate the nanometer size-effect of crystalline size of graphene on the mechanical properties, namely Young’s modulus and surface energy. In the process of the graphene hydrogenation project, we discovered a high yield way to synthesis high quality graphene nanoscroll (GNS). Interestingly, the GNS shows superadhesion property through our atomic force microscopy measurements. This superadhesion is around 6-order stronger than van der Waals interaction and even higher than the hydrogen bonding enhanced and solid/liquid interfaces.

This thesis discusses methods for the comparatively mild covalent functionalization of graphene. Several graphene models were investigated: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-graphene on SiO2/Si substrate, graphite foil, graphite flakes, kish graphite and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. The PAHs were viewed as graphene edge analogs with the following molecules representing different edge motifs: pyrene, perylene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[e]pyrene, triphenylene, acenapthylene, and anthracene. Ozone was used in combination with different solvents to functionalize PAHs, graphite, and CVD-graphene on SiO2/Si. Ozonation in water or methanol resulted in trapping of the carbonyl oxide intermediate that was formed in the reaction, producing a variety of functional groups. Ozonation in hydrogen peroxide solution with sonication promoted radical formation, possibly resulting in edge-oxidation of graphite. The regioselectivity for addition reactions (ozonolysis) and electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions with graphene edges is discussed. To achieve functionalization of the basal plane of graphite or graphene, white light irradiation was used in combination with several transfer hydrogenation reagents. Formic acid treatment under irradiation resulted in the expected hydrogenation, whereas iso-propanol treatment resulted in iso-propanol attachment to the graphene. The developed methods provide opportunities for graphene functionalization without the need for metal based reagents or harsh conditions.

Graphene, a two dimensional single layer of graphite, attracts a lot of attention of researchers around the globe due to its remarkable physical properties and application potential. The origin can thereby be found in the peculiar electronic structure since graphene is a zero gap semi-conductor with a linear energy dispersion in the vicinity of the Fermi level. Consequently, the charge carriers in graphene mimic massless Dirac Fermions which brings principles of quantum electrodynamics and exotic effects like Klein tunneling into a bench-top experiment. Modifying the electronic and/or crystal structure structure by functionalization might therefore as well lead to new tantalizing physical properties, novel compound materials based on graphene like graphane (fully hydrogenated graphene) or flourographene (fluorinated graphene), and ultimately new applications. In this work, the influences on the electronic structure of graphene are investigated with photoemission spectroscopies after covalent functionalization by atomic hydrogen and ionic functionalization with potassium. Regarding hydrogenation, the formation of tunable bandgap is observed along with a full recovery of the electronic properties of graphene upon removing the hydrogen by thermal annealing. Using high resolution x-ray photoemission and molecular dynamics simulations, the formation of a C4H structure is predicted for substrate supported graphene at a saturation H-coverage of 25%, due to a preferential para- arrangement of hydrogen atoms. In fully electron doped, hydrogenated graphene the formation of dispersionless hydrogen impurity state is observed with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. This flat state is extended over the whole Brillouin zone and according to calculations not localized. Potassium-doped graphene shows a similar doping level as its 3D parent component, the graphite intercalation compound KC8. Investigating the electron-phonon coupling in doped graphene, by direct derivation of the Eliashberg-function, shows an asymmetric coupling strength along the high-symmetry directions in the Brillouin Zone of graphene. In the K-M direction additional low energetic contributions could be identified which may originate from out-of-plane phonon modes. Regarding the electron-phonon-coupling strength of the high energy in-plane phonon modes a reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions is found.

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Depuis la découverte des propriétés physiques et électroniques du graphène, un très grand nombre de méthodes visant à produire et modifier chimiquement le graphène ont été développées afin d'étendre et améliorer ses capacités en vue de futures applications. Les travaux réalisés au cours de cette thèse ont portés sur une méthode exfoliation du graphite en phase liquide assistée d'une réaction de cycloaddition réversible. Cette approche repose sur la réaction de Diels-Alder entre le graphite et un diène masqué très réactif, et se révèle être très efficace dans des solvants organiques volatils qui ne permettent pas l'exfoliation directe du graphite. L'introduction de groupements fonctionnels sur le diène a permis de moduler les propriétés de surface de films de graphène, ainsi que de post-fonctionnaliser les feuillets de graphène afin d'apporter une plus-value au matériau. / Since the discovery of the exciting properties of graphene, many techniques to produce and chemically modify graphene have been developed in order to expand and improve its properties in view of future applications. The study presented in this thesis focus on a process for the chemically-assisted exfoliation of graphite based on a reversible cycloaddition reaction. It relies on the Diels-Alder reaction between graphite and highly reactive masked diene, and it is effective even in solvents that are otherwise ineffective for exfoliation of graphite. Furthermore, it is possible to introduce functional groups on the diene, thereby enabling the tuning of the surface properties of graphene, as well as the post-functionalization of graphene sheets.

The thesis contains two parts. Part 1 describes the investigations on graphene and contains five sections. Section 1, gives a brief overview of graphene and other nanocarbons. The other four sections deal with various aspects of single-layer and few-layer graphene such as functionalization and solubilization, surface properties and gas adsorption, molecular charge transfer interaction and some properties and applications. Section 2 describes covalent and noncovalent functionalization and solubilization of few-layer graphene samples prepared by different methods as well as of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). It includes covalent functionalization of graphene with organometallic reagents, noncovalent functionalization of graphene and SWNTs with surfactants as well as large aromatic molecules, and exfoliation of few-layer graphene by a water-soluble coronene carboxylate. Section 3 deals with surface properties and gas adsorption (mainly H2 and CO2) of few-layer graphenes. It is found that graphene samples with high surface area can adsorb even more than 3 wt% of H2 at high pressure which makes it promising material for gas-storage applications. Section 4 describes the molecular charge-transfer interaction of single and few-layered graphenes and SWNTs with different electron-donor and -acceptor molecules probed by both ITC measurements and Raman spectroscopy. Electron–acceptor molecules interact more strongly with graphene and SWNTs than the -donor molecules and nature of interaction of metallic SWNTs are different than the as-prepared ones. A Raman study of the interaction of single-layer graphene, prepared by micromechanical cleavage as well as chemical route, with an electron donor molecule such as tetrathiofulvalene (TTF) and an electron acceptor molecule such as tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) is examined. In Section 5, some properties and applications of graphene are discussed. These include fluorescence quenching phenomena observed with few-layer graphene samples on two fluorescent molecules such as coronene and perylene derivatives. Fabrication of a sensing device as well as of FETs prepared from doped and undoped few-layer and single-layer graphene samples forms part of this section. Part 2 of the thesis includes a brief introduction of hybrid open-framework material and synthesis, characterization and crystal structure of various open-framework metal carboxylates, starting with different transition and main group metals. The carboxylic acids used to form these frameworks vary such as simple aliphatic amino acids such as beta-alanine and aspartic acid or simple aliphatic hydroxyl carboxylic acid such as malic acid in its chiral and achiral forms or five-membered heterocyclic aromatic acid, such as imidazole dicarboxylic acid.