Article on Nanocarbon Synthesis Using Electroactive Bacteria Published in Carbon
Our article on the sustainable production of nanocarbons from fluorographite materials was recently published in Carbon.
This paper represents the first route - to my knowledge - from a fluorocarbon precursor to graphene oxides and graphene quantum dot materials using only aqueous conditions, at low temperature and neutral pH.
We achieve this through the unique behaviour of electroactive bacteria to transfer electrons extracellularly, breaking the C-F bond in these structures and producing nanocarbon materials with controlled size and tuneable surface chemistry.
We have a lot of follow-up studies planned based on this initial article.
Attached is a digital cover graphically illustrating the bioexfoliation of fluorographite, prepared by Jean-François Bergamini.
James A. Behan
Chargé de Recherche/Assistant Professor CNRS
I am a Chargé de Recherche (Assistant Professor) based at the Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, France. My research focuses on the areas of nanomaterial electrochemistry, bioelectrochemistry and interfacial science for energy applications. I previously worked as a Marie Curie fellow (Université de Rennes) and postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for BioNano Interactions (CBNI) in the School of Chemistry, University College Dublin and as a postdoc and lecturer in Trinity College Dublin where I completed my PhD in physical chemistry with a focus on electrochemical and spectroscopic characterisation of nitrogenated carbon materials. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry at Trinity in 2014, when I graduated at the top of my class.