Creation of Conductive Graphene Materials by Bacterial Reduction Using Shewanella Oneidensis

• Published in: ChemistryOpen (Weinheim) Vol. 8; no. 7; pp. 888 - 895
• Main Authors: Lehner, Benjamin A. E., Janssen, Vera A. E. C., Spiesz, Ewa M., Benz, Dominik, Brouns, Stan J. J., Meyer, Anne S., van der Zant, Herre S. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley-VCH
• Subjects: Biosensors; Chemical vapor deposition; Composite materials; Copper; Datasets; Flakes; Graphene; graphene oxide; Graphite; Inks; microbial reductions; Microorganisms; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Organic chemistry; Production methods; Reduction; Resistance; Scanning electron microscopy; Shewanella oneidensis; Software; sustainable reactions; Thickness ratio; Transistors; sustainable reactions; graphene oxide; microbial reductions; nanomaterials; Shewanella oneidensis
• ISSN: 2191-1363; 2191-1363
• DOI: 10.1002/open.201900186

Graphene's maximized surface‐to‐volume ratio, high conductance, mechanical strength, and flexibility make it a promising nanomaterial. However, large‐scale graphene production is typically cost‐intensive. This manuscript describes a microbial reduction approach for producing graphene that utilizes the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis in combination with modern nanotechnology to enable a low‐cost, large‐scale production method. The bacterial reduction approach presented in this paper increases the conductance of single graphene oxide flakes as well as bulk graphene oxide sheets by 2.1 to 2.7 orders of magnitude respectively while simultaneously retaining a high surface‐area‐to‐thickness ratio. Shewanella‐mediated reduction was employed in conjunction with electron‐beam lithography to reduce one surface of individual graphene oxide flakes. This methodology yielded conducting flakes with differing functionalization on the top and bottom faces. Therefore, microbial reduction of graphene oxide enables the development and up‐scaling of new types of graphene‐based materials and devices with a variety of applications including nano‐composites, conductive inks, and biosensors, while avoiding usage of hazardous, environmentally‐unfriendly chemicals. Bacteria at work! The two‐dimensional material graphene has outstanding properties. However, the production of this material requires expensive and harsh chemistry. A microbiological approach can make the graphene production process more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Microbially‐produced graphene demonstrates increased conductance and a high surface‐area‐to‐thickness ratio, making it well‐suited to a number of different applications.