The thesis consists of current scientific knowledge of graphene, its synthesis, scanning electron microscopy and oxygen reduction reactions. In the end I conducted experimental research, which I carried out with graphene based on these methods.
Chemical vapor deposition is one of the possible methods of graphene production, which is not too expensive and is also suitable for mass production. It involves introducing gas, which serves as a source of carbon atoms, on a substrate, which is usually one of the transition metals. On the substrate, the gas degrades and, when cooled, graphene grows on it. In my thesis, I used a polycrystalline platinum disc as a substrate and methane served as the source of carbon atoms.
To see how much graphene has grown on the disk, we took some photos of platinum before and after the growth of graphene with a scanning electron microscope.
The main objective of this thesis was to check the catalytic activity of graphene for oxygen reduction reaction, as it is important in fuel cells with a proton exchange membrane and in metal-air batteries, which will serve to provide a sustainable energy source with the least carbon footprint, as carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels heat the global atmosphere, which we want to prevent, so that our planet will still be habitable for generations to come
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