Graphene Oxide and Carbon Nanotubes in Powder and Paper Form, Decorated with Silver and Palladium Nanoparticles

This PhD project developed a novel way to create materials by combining carbon-nanostructures with silver or palladium nanoparticles in an environmentally friendly manner. Why is this important? These hybrid materials are valuable in many fields, such as creating paints that kill bacteria, developing materials to clean the environment, and designing better tools for energy storage and use. For example, silver hybrids can kill harmful bacteria or detect diseases, while palladium ones can speed up chemical reactions.

Traditionally, making such materials involves using harmful chemicals and creating a lot of waste, which is bad for the environment. This project focused on fixing that by following "green chemistry" principles, which aim to reduce harm and waste during the process.

Here’s how it worked: Carbon nanomaterials like graphene oxide and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were used as the base. Normally, attaching silver or palladium nanoparticles directly to these surfaces is challenging and doesn’t give the best performance results. However, by coating the carbon surfaces with special molecules called “amines”, the nanoparticles attach much better and more evenly. This made the hybrid materials more effective and efficient for their intended uses.