State, synthesis, perspective applications, and challenges of Graphdiyne and its analogues: A review of recent research

AA-Stacked Hydrogen-Substituted Graphdiyne for Enhanced Lithium Storage

Graphdiyne (GDY) has been considered a promising electrode material for application in electrochemical energy storage. However, studies on GDY featuring an ordered interlayer stacking are lacking, which is supposed to be another effective way to increase lithium binding sites and diffusion pathways. Herein, we synthesized a hydrogen-substituted GDY (HsGDY) with a highly-ordered AA-stacking structure via a facile alcohol-thermal method. Such unique architecture enables a rapid lithium transfer through the well-organized pore channels and endows a stronger adsorption capability to lithium atom as compared to the arbitrarily-stacked mode. The resultant HsGDY exhibits a reversible capacity of 1040 mA h g-1 at 0.05 A g-1 ranking among the most powerful GDY-based electrode materials, and an excellent rate performance as well as a long-term cycling stability. The successful preparation of gram-level high-quality HsGDY products in batches implies the potential for large-scale lithium-storage applications.

Graphdiyne and its heteroatom-doped derivatives for Li-ion/metal batteries

Graphdiyne (GDY), which is composed of benzene rings and acetylene linkage units, is a new allotrope of carbon material. In particular, the large triangular pores of GDY, with a diameter of 5.4 Å, theoretically predict a higher lithium embedding density than traditional graphite anodes, making it a promising candidate for energy storage materials in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. GDY is primarily synthesized via a cross-coupling reaction of hexaethynylbenzene (HEB). Under similar preparation conditions, the cross-coupling reaction of aryne precursors, other than HEB, yields many GDY heteroatom-doped derivatives. This introduces numerous heteroatomic defects as well as electrochemically active sites, potentially enhancing electrochemical performance. Recent advancements have focused on utilizing GDY and its heteroatom-doped derivatives as electrode materials or composite materials in Li-ion/metal batteries. This review systematically summarizes the strategies developed for GDY and its heteroatom-doped derivatives. Notably, recent research on the effects of morphology and chemical/electronic structure on performance, particularly new conceptual mechanisms in Li-ion/metal batteries, including self-expanding Li-ion transport channels and a capture/pore filling-intercalation hybrid mechanism, is briefly described. The results presented herein highlight the significant potential of GDY and its heteroatom-doped derivatives for energy storage applications and inspire further development.

Comparison of developmental toxicity of graphene oxide and graphdiyne to zebrafish larvae

Graphdiyne (GDY) is a new member of family of carbon-based 2D nanomaterials (NMs), but the environmental toxicity is less investigated compared with other 2D NMs, such as graphene oxide (GO). In this study, we compared with developmental toxicity of GO and GDY to zebrafish larvae. It was shown that exposure of zebrafish embryos from 5 h post fertilization to GO and GDY for up to 5 days decreased hatching rate and induced morphological deformity. Behavioral tests indicated that GO and GDY treatment led to hyperactivity of larvae. However, blood flow velocity was not significantly affected by GO or GDY. RNA-sequencing data revealed that both types of NMs altered gene expression profiles as well as gene ontology terms and KEGG pathways related with metabolism. We further confirmed that the NMs altered the expression of genes related with lipid droplets and autophagy, which may be account for the delayed development of zebrafish larvae. At the same mass concentrations, GO induced comparable or even larger toxic effects compared with GDY, indicating that GDY might be more biocompatible compared with GO. These results may provide novel understanding about the environmental toxicity of GO and GDY in vivo.

Properties, Synthesis and Emerging Applications of Graphdiyne: A Journey Through Recent Advancements

Graphdiyne (GDY) is a new variant of nano-carbon material with excellent chemical, physical and electronic properties. It has attracted wide attention from researchers and industrialists for its extensive role in the fields of optics, electronics, bio-medics and energy. The unique arrangement of sp-sp2 carbon atoms, linear acetylenic linkages, uniform pores and highly conjugated structure offer numerous potentials for further exploration of GDY materials. However, since the material is at its infancy, not much understanding is available regarding its properties, growth mechanism and future applications. Therefore, in this review, readers are guided through a brief discussion on GDY's properties, different synthesis procedures with a special focus on surface functionalization and a list of applications for GDY. The review also critically analyses the advantages and disadvantages of each synthesis route and emphasizes the future scope of the material.

Promoting CO2 electroreduction to CO by a graphdiyne-stabilized Au nanoparticle catalyst

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) gives an ideal approach for producing valuable chemicals, offering dual benefits in terms of environmental preservation and carbon recycling. In this work, a strong synergistic effect is constructed by adopting electron-rich graphdiyne (GDY) as the supporting matrix, which significantly stabilizes the Au active sites and boosts the CO2RR process. The as-prepared GDY-supported Au nanoparticles (Au/GDY) exhibit excellent CO2RR performance, with an extremely high faradaic efficiency of 94.6% for CO as well as good stability with continuous electrolysis for 36 hours. The superior activity and stability of the Au/GDY catalyst can be attributed to the electronic interaction between Au nanoparticles and the GDY substrate, resulting in enhanced electron transfer rates and a stable network of catalytically active sites that ultimately promote the CO2RR.