Properties of Carbon: An Overview

The basic carbon material introduced in this chapter is graphene, which is a single layer of crystalline graphite, because it is the basic building block behind sp2 carbon materials. The chapter also introduces some typical carbon materials that are widely studied in electrochemistry. Their properties, not restricted to their electrochemical properties, are briefly described. Some characterization techniques, including spectroelectrochemistry, are described when applied to selected carbon materials. The chapter presents a brief overview of the application of various carbon materials to electrochemistry. Different forms of carbons have different physical and chemical properties, but these different carbon forms are of interest in electrochemical studies and for many applications. The different forms of carbon include: graphene, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), carbon nanotube, graphene nanoribbon (GNR), diamond and porous carbon. Various experimental techniques have been employed in conjunction with electrochemical methods to characterize carbon-based materials.