Green Synthesis Strategy

Addressing the severe acid pollution in conventional graphene synthesis, Prof. Chen's team developed an environmentally friendly in-situ growth strategy:

  • Using wheat flour and thiourea dioxide as green carbon sources/reductants
  • Published in Chemical Engineering Journal as a Cover Article

Strengthening & Toughening Mechanisms

  • Interface engineering: In-situ reactions build strong chemical bonds between graphene and the Cu/Al matrix
  • Anti-arc erosion: Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirm graphene effectively blocks metal atom diffusion under arc bombardment

Carbon Fiber Surface Metallization

Based on wetting theory and metal matrix composite interface behavior, the group developed metallic Ni, Cr, and Cu coatings on carbon material surfaces via electroplating, electroless plating, and magnetron sputtering:

  • Modified carbon fiber reinforced Cu-matrix composites with significantly improved density, electrical, and mechanical properties
  • 3 national invention patents granted

SPS Rapid Fabrication of Graphene/Metal Composites

Pioneered the use of SPS liquid-phase activated sintering combined with conventional infiltration PM to synthesize graphene/CuW contact materials:

  • Synergistic improvement in density, electrical conductivity, and mechanical strength
  • Resolved the longstanding trade-off between electrical and mechanical performance in contact materials
  • Published in Journal of Alloys & Compounds (18 citations)

Graphene-Polymer Functional Materials

In-situ copolymerization produces hybrid-structure graphene/polymer composites with high electrical and thermal conductivity:

  • Strength increased by 46.8%, elastic modulus by 56%
  • Elongation improved by 47.23%, electrical conductivity by 2 orders of magnitude
  • 1 national invention patent; published in Polymer

Representative Papers

  1. [Cover Article] A novel fabrication of graphene by chemical reaction with a green reductant. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2016
  2. Investigation on arc erosion behaviors and mechanism of W70Cu30 electrical contact materials adding graphene. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017
  3. [Review] Advances in graphene reinforced metal matrix nanocomposites. Nanotechnology and Precision Engineering, 2020