The DOI matches its Crossref record; 36 of the 36 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Gram-scale bottom-up flash graphene synthesis
Abstract
Most bulk-scale graphene is produced by a top-down approach, exfoliating graphite, which often requires large amounts of solvent with high-energy mixing, shearing, sonication or electrochemical treatment 1-3. Although chemical oxidation of graphite to graphene oxide promotes exfoliation, it requires harsh oxidants and leaves the graphene with a defective perforated structure after the subsequent reduction step 3,4. Bottom-up synthesis of high-quality graphene is often restricted to ultrasmall amounts if performed by chemical vapour deposition or advanced synthetic organic methods, or it provides a defect-ridden structure if carried out in bulk solution 4-6. Here we show that flash Joule heating of inexpensive carbon sources-such as coal, petroleum coke, biochar, carbon black, discarded food, rubber tyres and mixed plastic waste-can afford gram-scale quantities of graphene in less than one second. The product, named flash graphene (FG) after the process used to produce it, shows turbostratic arrangement (that is, little order) between the stacked graphene layers. FG synthesis uses no furnace and no solvents or reactive gases. Yields depend on the carbon content of the source; when using a high-carbon source, such as carbon black, anthracitic coal or calcined coke, yields can range from 80 to 90 per cent with carbon purity greater than 99 per cent. No purification steps are necessary. Raman spectroscopy analysis shows a low-intensity or absent D band for FG, indicating that FG has among the lowest defect concentrations reported so far for graphene, and confirms the turbostratic stacking of FG, which is clearly distinguished from turbostratic graphite. The disordered orientation of FG layers facilitates its rapid exfoliation upon mixing during composite formation. The electric energy cost for FG synthesis is only about 7.2 kilojoules per gram, which could render FG suitable for use in bulk composites of plastic, metals, plywood, concrete and other building materials.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“The Luong team further confirmed that FJH-produced FG possesses the lowest defect concentration, with its turbostratic stacking structure enabling excellent exfoliation properties [54] .”
From Functional carbon materials from waste plastics: synthesis and applications (2025) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“The plastic is heated to high temperature in a short period of time, and most non-carbon atoms are removed through sublimation to obtain high-quality turbine layer flash graphene, with a yield of over 90% (Luong et al. 2020).”
From Conversion of waste plastics into value-added carbon materials (2023) · cites this paper as Luong et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“| Flash Joule heat- | Polyethylene tere- | Quartz or ceramic | Greater than 3000 | Graphene | 80-90 | Luong et al. (2020) |”
From Conversion of waste plastics into value-added carbon materials (2023) · cites this paper as Luong et al. (2020)
Citations
Cites
Fast Parallel Algorithms for Short-Range Molecular Dynamics
Plimpton, S. (1995) · Journal of Computational Physics · doi:10.1006/jcph.1995.1039 · Cited by 44,721
Raman Spectrum of Graphene and Graphene Layers
Ferrari, A. C., Meyer, J. C., Scardaci, V., Casiraghi, C., Lazzeri, M., Mauri, F., Piscanec, S., Jiang, D., Novoselov, K. S., Roth, S., et al. (2006) · Physical Review Letters · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.97.187401 · Cited by 15,229
Synthesis of graphene-based nanosheets via chemical reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide
Stankovich, S., Dikin, D. A., Piner, R. D., Kohlhaas, K. M., Kleinhammes, A., Jia, Y., Wu, Y., Nguyen, S. T., & Ruoff, R. S. (2007) · Carbon · doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2007.02.034 · Cited by 13,979
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., & Law, K. L. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1260352 · Cited by 13,163
Processable aqueous dispersions of graphene nanosheets
Li, D., Müller, M. B., Gilje, S., Kaner, R. B., & Wallace, G. G. (2008) · Nature Nanotechnology · doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.451 · Cited by 9,146
Ferrari, A. C. (2007) · Solid State Communications · doi:10.1016/j.ssc.2007.03.052 · Cited by 7,706
Honeycomb Carbon: A Review of Graphene
Allen, M. J., Tung, V., & Kaner, R. B. (2009) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/cr900070d · Cited by 7,073
High-yield production of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite
Hernández, Y., Nicolosi, V., Lotya, M., Blighe, F. M., Sun, Z., De, S., McGovern, I. T., Holland, B. N., Byrne, M. T., Gun’ko, Y. K., et al. (2008) · Nature Nanotechnology · doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.215 · Cited by 6,375
Raman spectroscopy in graphene
Malard, L. M., Pimenta, M. A., Dresselhaus, G., & Dresselhaus, M. S. (2009) · Physics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2009.02.003 · Cited by 6,168
A reactive potential for hydrocarbons with intermolecular interactions
Stuart, S. J., Tutein, A. B., & Harrison, J. A. (2000) · The Journal of Chemical Physics · doi:10.1063/1.481208 · Cited by 4,457
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 901–950 of 950
Rapid and sustainable MXene synthesis
(2026) · Nature Synthesis · doi:10.1038/s44160-026-01141-1
Lai, P., Xu, Z., Zhu, C., Jin, S. Y., Du, L., Zhao, Y., Weng, Z., Zhang, H., Zhang, L., Luo, Y., et al. (2026) · ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · doi:10.1021/acsami.6c12010
Zeng, J., Dong, Y., Zhu, N., Zhu, D., Jiang, H., Chen, Y., Han, T., Yao, Y., Yang, H., & Yang, H. (2026) · Carbon Energy · doi:10.1002/cey2.70308
Wang, C., Zhong, J., Hu, C., Yang, J., Zhou, Y., Zhang, W., Xu, J., & Lin, X. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.181140
Wu, B., Cordeiro, I. M. D. C., Jia, M., Zhai, H., Tian, C., Chen, Q., Lin, B., Yuen, A. C. Y., Wang, C., & Yeoh, G. H. (2026) · Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis · doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2026.108064
Purification strategies for FCCVD-produced carbon nanotubes
Huang, X., & Cao, G. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.181196
Chen, J., Ren, J., Huang, M., Yu, C., Song, S., Xu, Y., Zhao, G., Nie, H., Lei, H., Zhang, D., et al. (2026) · Sustainable Carbon Materials · doi:10.48130/scm-0026-0026
Zhao, Y., Quan, X., Zhang, J., Wang, J., Zhang, L., Si, M., Yan, C., Wang, Z., & Peng, Y. L. (2026) · Applied Physics Reviews · doi:10.1063/5.0333564
Self-citationSubramanian, S., & de Groot, M. T. (2026) · Applied Energy · doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2026.128755
Preceramic Precursor Enabled Multifunctional High-Temperature Coatings
Feng, Q., Meuse, N. D., Liu, H., Yu, J., Ku, N., Berkowitz, R., Hann, E., & Ren, S. (2026) · Nano Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c03112
Jia, A., Feng, L., Liu, Z., Liu, H., Jiang, Z., Liu, G., Li, H., Chen, K., & Xia, W. (2026) · New Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.1039/d6nj01117a
Non-equilibrium Joule heating for electrocatalysts: a coordination chemistry perspective
Kuang, L., Maheskumar, V., Li, J., & Chen, Y. (2026) · Coordination Chemistry Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2026.218467
Electronically Active Polydiacetylene-Functionalized Biomimetic Nanosheets
Babi, J., Hood, C., Mann-Delany, O., Onrubia, G. L., Lin, A., Tresca, B., Edgar, L. J., & Tran, H. (2026) · ACS Nano · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c05166
Chen, Z., Shaver, J., Topel, M., Bregar, M., Jin, K., & Nian, Q. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7417057
Yi, C., Meng, B., Wang, J., Tian, Y., Zhang, L., Li, H., Wang, X., & Zhang, Y. (2026) · Applied Surface Science · doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2026.168319
Varghese, S., Mondal, A. K., Kondaveeti, S., Aditya, L., Ralph, P. J., & Kuzhiumparambil, U. (2026) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/d6ta05114f
Xue, F., Fu, X., Kang, S., Chen, J., Tan, J., Yang, S., He, Z., Li, H., Fan, Y., & Lu, W. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.181959
Xiao, J., Wang, J., Zhao, Y., Sun, Z., Cao, J., & Qiu, J. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.181973
Fu, X., Xu, J., He, X., Wan, L., Qu, W., Cao, L., Kang, S., Li, H., Luo, J., Pan, Z., et al. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.182049
Flash Surface-Engineered Floating Proppants with Decoupled Density and Strength
Cheng, Y., Wang, Z., Liu, Q., Ye, H. L., Shin, J., Silva, K. J., Zhu, H., Hossain, S., Li, J. T., Nour, R. S. A., et al. (2026) · ACS Nano · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c14926
Self-citationLiu, H., Chen, R., Hongzuo, Y., Zeng, Y., Ke, X., Chen, Y., Chen, X., & Wong, C. (2026) · Carbon · doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2026.122127
Yu, F., Liu, Z., Luo, J., Liu, C., Tang, L., Zhou, S., Yuan, Y., Li, M., Ji, J., & Peng, H. (2026) · ACS ES&T Engineering · doi:10.1021/acsestengg.6c00660
Wang, J., Wang, Z., Yu, F., Huang, X., Wang, K., Zhou, R., Hu, X., Zhang, H., Lin, L., Ji, J., et al. (2026) · ACS Nano · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c12998
Self-citationZhang, B., Liu, K., Yan, Z., Liyuan, W., Yu, K., Gao, X., & Chen, P. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.182269
Pan, Z., Chen, W., He, M., Zhu, J., Liu, J., Gao, L., Zhu, Z., Zhao, X., Jin, H., Wang, X., et al. (2026) · Energy · doi:10.1016/j.energy.2026.142520
Self-citationJang, J., Jha, B. K., Yoon, J., Qian, C., Ha, S., & Ding, F. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-10875769/v1
Liu, H., Dong, Z., Wu, H., Wang, X., & Zeng, Y. (2026) · Optics & Laser Technology · doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2026.116400
Liu, Y., Liu, T., Ruan, C., Lin, R., Li, H., Wu, Q., Zheng, X., Wu, Q., Huang, Q., Xia, Y., et al. (2026) · Applied Catalysis B: Environmental · doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2026.127565
Supply chain and environmental implications of waste-to-graphite
Zhang, B., Chen, Z., Wang, H., Xu, Y., Piao, Z., Klee, R., Reck, B. K., Li, T., Park, S., Hu, L., et al. (2026) · Nature Reviews Clean Technology · doi:10.1038/s44359-026-00219-5
Suci, W. G., Purwanto, A., Nurtono, T., Setyawan, H., & Widiyastuti (2026) · EPJ Web of Conferences · doi:10.1051/epjconf/202638706009
Xiong, X., Fan, Z., Hu, R., Shan, Y., Tao, C., & Dong, Q. (2026) · Journal of Materials Chemistry A · doi:10.1039/d6ta03364d
Upgrading Mixed Textile Waste to Nano Onion-Like Fullerenes by the Two-Step Flash Joule Heating
Yang, Q., Cui, P., Pu, S., Bu, Y., Zhu, X., Deng, B., Wang, Y., Fan, J., & Zhang, H. (2026) · ACS Nano · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c11507
Valorization of petroleum coke into high-quality few-layer graphene through liquid-phase exfoliation
Alkahtani, M., Alzahrani, Y. A., Alessa, A. M., Alromaeh, A. I., Aljomah, M. M., Alghannam, F. S., Albaqami, F. H., Almuqhim, A. A., Aljuwayr, A., Banavath, R., et al. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-74440-4
Flash Joule heating-induced oxygen-deficient TiO2 for high-rate lithium storagePreprint
Zhu, C. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7571359
Fu, Z., Wang, W., Dong, J., Liang, B., Zeng, B., Xiao, B., & Wang, F. (2026) · Colloids and Surfaces A Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects · doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2026.142028
Pan, X., Zhao, Y., Supiyeva, Z., & Abbas, Q. (2026) · Frontiers in Chemistry · doi:10.3389/fchem.2026.1951078
Cho, H. M., Kim, S., Suh, B.-C., Kim, Y. M., & Cho, E. S. (2026) · Journal of Material Science and Technology · doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2026.10.003
Flash Vaporization of Liquid Water Enables Vapor-Pressure-Driven Pore Opening in Coal-Derived CarbonPreprint
Yan, Y., Luo, W., Liu, Y., Zhao, D., & He, J. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7597004
Preparation of Flash Graphene from Wheat Straw and Its Application to Cementitious Composites
Su, X., Ge, L., Meng, J., Huang, S., Wang, X., Liu, Y., Yi, L., & Meng, H. (2026) · Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance · doi:10.1007/s11665-026-15271-2
Peng, X., 倪江锋, Han, G., & Zhu, S. (2026) · EnergyChem · doi:10.1016/j.enchem.2026.100211
Simultaneous antimony recovery from and debromination of flame-retardant electronic-waste plastics
Ye, H. L., Cheng, Y., Silva, K. J., Xu, S., Zhu, H., Aina, O., Viscomi, N. L., Chen, S., Seguron, P., Liu, Q., et al. (2026) · Nature Chemical Engineering · doi:10.1038/s44286-026-00455-3
Self-citationchao, J., Chen, J., Liu, X., Liu, Y., Yan, L., Luo, J., Xu, R., Zhang, X., Shicheng, Z., Jiang, Y., et al. (2026) · The Innovation Materials · doi:10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2026.100244
Yin, K., Gao, W., Lian, F., & Xing, B. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.183334
Yuan, J., Wang, X., Wei, L., Yang, Y., Fei, X., Gao, X., Sun, J., Liu, Y., Chen, H., & 陈志良 (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.183388
Cheng, C., Zhang, Q., Jia, C., Agathokleous, E., Wang, Q., Lu, Y., He, Y., White, J. C., He, J., XiangDong, Z., et al. (2026) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6c10880
Rapid Conversion of Low-conductivity Carbon Sources into Nanographene by Thermal PlasmaPreprint
Wu, C., Xue, L., Wu, Q., Wang, L., Chen, X., Jingjing, Z., & Wu, S. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7674795
Advances in sustainable exfoliation techniques for 2D materials
Huo, L., Dong, M., Zhang, H., Bilotti, E., Boland, C., Yu, L., Sanli, A., & Papageorgiou, D. G. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.183718
Xu, Z., Liu, C., Wang, P., Tao, W., & Zhou, G. (2026) · Materials Letters · doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2026.141918
de Souza, F. B., Naseem, Z., & Pang, S. D. (2026) · Materials and Structures · doi:10.1617/s11527-026-03325-9
Nanomaterials in energy storage and conversion devices
Lawal, A. T. (2026) · Next Energy · doi:10.1016/j.nxener.2026.101158
Metadata
- Authors
- Luong, D. X., Bets, K. V., Algozeeb, W. A., Stanford, M. G., Kittrell, C., Chen, W., Salvatierra, R. V., Ren, M., McHugh, E. A., Advincula, P. A., Wang, Z., Bhatt, M., Guo, H., Mancevski, V., Shahsavari, R., Yakobson, B. I., & Tour, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Rice University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shahsavari, Rouzbeh
- Yakobson, Boris I.
- Tour, James M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2020-01-27
- Volume
- 577
- Issue
- 7792
- Pages
- 647-651
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W3000867797
- Cited by
- 950
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 167 · 2025: 201 · 2024: 165 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 132 · 2021: 109 · 2020: 45
- FWCI
- 40.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission (696656)
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10LABX-0026CSC)
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki (2015/18/E/ST5/00188, 2016/21/B/ST5/00175)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Graphene research and applications
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Carbon Nanotubes in Composites
- Keywords
- Joule heating, turbostratic stacking, graphene defects, carbon black, coal, petroleum coke, biochar, rubber tires, plastic waste, solvent-free synthesis, graphene composites, energy costs
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
