Method of manufacturing a three-dimensional carbon structure
The present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional carbon structure. The method requires graphene layers and/or graphene oxide layers. The layers can be provided such that they correspond to the cross-section of a pre-defined shape. In this regard, the method of the present invention can be employed to manufacture a three-dimensional carbon structure having a custom shape.
1. A method of manufacturing a three-dimensional carbon structure, the method comprising steps of:
providing a first graphene oxide layer on a metallic substrate,
converting at least a portion of the first graphene oxide layer to provide a first graphene layer in a first converting step,
providing a second graphene oxide layer on the first graphene layer, the first graphene oxide layer, or a combination thereof,
converting at least a portion of the second graphene oxide layer to provide a second graphene layer in a second converting step producing an initial carbon structure,
exposing the first graphene layer and the second graphene layer to a hydrogen gas at a pressure sufficient to alter the initial carbon structure and cause hydrogen tunneling, and
removing the metallic substrate after the second converting step and the exposing step to provide the three-dimensional carbon structure.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metallic substrate comprises a transition metal.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metallic substrate comprises silicon, platinum, iron, or nickel.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metallic substrate comprises platinum.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the steps of converting is performed with a laser.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the steps of converting is performed via gamma ray irradiation or UV irradiation.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first graphene layer, the second graphene layer, or both include at least some unconverted graphene oxide and wherein the method further comprises a step of removing the at least some of the unconverted graphene oxide.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional carbon structure contains a contaminant comprising nitrogen, boron, nickel, iron, or a halogen.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contaminant replaces a carbon in the first graphene layer, the second graphene layer, or both.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contaminant is present between the first graphene layer and the second graphene layer.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contaminant comprises nitrogen.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contaminant comprises a halogen.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contaminant comprises boron, nickel, or iron.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first graphene layer, the second graphene layer, or both are exposed to a contaminant comprising nitrogen, boron, nickel, iron, or a halogen during exposure to the hydrogen gas.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first graphene oxide layer is exposed to a contaminant comprising nitrogen, boron, nickel, iron, or a halogen during the first converting step.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of exposing the first graphene layer, the second graphene layer, or both to beta radiation.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a diamond-like carbon coating on the three-dimensional carbon structure.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the coating is formed using pulsed laser deposition.