Abstract
Carbon and its driven materials have been a foundation of living and nonliving systems for centuries due to their amazing experimental expressions in light, temperature, pressure, and pH. Being light-weighted and electronically active with equal energy partitioning in its four orbitals (2s12px12py12pz1), the C atoms have been at the core of natural sciences, providing valuable resources like high-grade wood, cotton, and many others. Thus, carbon-driven materials like diamond, graphite, and graphene ink have been attracting the attention of scientists, researchers, and industries. The chapter reviews recent chemical methodologies for the synthesis and structural investigation of graphene and its derivatives by various analytical techniques that provide information about basic knowledge to understand the role of graphene and graphene-based composites in various qualitative and quantitative applications. Here, several methods have been enlisted for the surface alteration of graphene oxide by a synthetic approach, such as ultrasound, a microwave-assisted synthesis that avoids the use of hazardous chemicals. Also, conventional methods have been discussed, including various types of reactions, such as nucleophilic, electrophilic, condensation, and cycloaddition. This review article highlights the key points to understanding the 2D carbon material for researchers and users to learn about the chemical modification of graphene at the initial stage. This write-up also discusses a brief explanation of various carbon nanomaterials that concern graphene and its oxide forms. We have explained the synthetic value of 2D carbon materials so that it covers a lot of the needs of researchers for synthetic aspects in graphene and allied fields of interest. Currently, such unique experiments are noted as milestones in the field of material synthesis for various applications. So, a review of chemically altered graphene materials reinforced with structural multi-functionalities is highly informative as a ready reckoner for needed information and understanding.