Work

Sachharomyces Cerevisae Dry Powder-Mediated Exfoliation of Graphite Chunks into Functionalized Few-Layer Graphene

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Owing to the active production of metabolites during reproduction and growth, microbial cells have been incessantly explored for their potential in the fabrication and functionalization of inorganic materials. Yeast cells, which are nonpathogenic microbes, exhibit biotransformation reactions and the potential to modify functional groups when grown under fermentative conditions. Here, we attempted to delay graphite chunks into graphene flakes by incubating them with dry Sachharomyces cerevisae powder. The evident delamination/thinning of graphene layers was demonstrated using microscopic and spectroscopic analyses which confirmed the exfoliation of graphite to few-layer graphene (FLG). The gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of the developed process established the sustainability and environmental hotspots for the approach. Our study demonstrates the facile, green, and sustainable exfoliation of graphite using off-the-shelf materials in laboratories or kitchens and can be scaled up to industry levels. Yeast cells were also explored for the exfoliation of another 2D material, MoS 2, and showed the potential to flake off the bulk structure into few MoS 2 sheets.

Source: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00832