HYBRID GRAPHENE MATERIALS AND METHODS OF FABRICATION

1 . A method for fabricating graphene materials, comprising:

coating a semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor onto a metal substrate;

heating the semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor and the coated metal substrate to a first temperature;

maintaining the first temperature to dissociate the semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor into carbon on the metal substrate; and

cooling to a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature to allow the dissociated hydrocarbon to arrange itself into graphene on the metal substrate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor is petrolatum.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the semi-solid hydrocarbon is paraffin melt.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal substrate includes at least one of nickel, copper, or a stainless steel.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the metal substrate includes one or more of a foil, a foam, a sheet, and a deposited layer.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the metal substrate is substantially tubular.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising pre-annealing the metal substrate before applying the hydrocarbon.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein heating the coated metal substrate includes heating the coated metal substrate within a chamber.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the semi-solid hydrocarbon is petroleum jelly.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor includes a nitrogenous compound.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the nitrogenous compound includes one or more of pyridine, phthalocyanine, and pyrazole.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the semi-solid hydrocarbon precursor includes nanoparticles of at least one of a metal, a metalloid, or a semiconductor.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the metal nanoparticles include at least one of nickel, copper, iron, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, cobalt, iridium, rhodium, osmium, and ruthenium.

14 . A method for producing porous graphene comprising:

coating a semi-solid hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture onto a metal substrate, the hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture including a saturated hydrocarbon and nanoparticles;

heating the semi-solid hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture coated metal substrate to substantially at least 450° C.;

maintaining a temperature of the semi-solid hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture coated metal substrate at substantially at least 450° C. to dissociate the semi-solid hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture on the surface of the metal substrate into carbon and the nanoparticles; and

cooling the heated semi-solid hydrocarbon-nanoparticle mixture coated metal substrate by substantially at least 20° C. per minute to reach 200° C. or less, wherein the cooling allows the carbon to precipitate out at the surface of the metal substrate and arrange itself into graphene together with the nanoparticles;

coating a polymer on the graphene and nanoparticles; and

dispersing the metal substrate and nanoparticles.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the polymer includes one or more of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS).

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the metal substrate is substantially tubular.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein dispersing the metal substrate and nanoparticles includes immersing the polymer coated graphene and nanoparticles in a chemical solution.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the chemical solution is strongly basic or strongly acidic.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the strongly basic solution is potassium hydroxide (KOH) and the strongly acidic solution is hydrogen chloride (HCl) alone or in combination with ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ).

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the nanoparticles include at least one of copper, nickel, activated carbon, silicon, zinc oxide, tin oxide, or manganese oxide.