Recent advances in chemical modifications of graphene

Graphene has attracted the interest of chemists, physicists, and materials scientists due to its extraordinary structural, mechanical, and electronic properties. While pristine graphene is desirable for applications that require a high electrical conductivity, many other applications require modified or functionalized forms of graphene, such as graphene oxide, reduced graphene, or other functionalized forms. Structurally modifying graphene through chemical functionalization reveals the numerous possibilities for tuning its structure; several chemical and physical functionalization methods have been explored to improve the stabilization and modification of graphene. In this review, we report recent progress towards the chemical modification of graphene, including both covalent and noncovalent methods, for use in various applications.