Ion irradiation/implantation induced defect engineering and modification in graphene derivatives-based nanocomposites: Energy storage/conversion and sensor

A few decades ago, the irradiation process was considered to be just a lethal technique that damaged the structure of solid materials, but in the last few years, new discoveries have also described the good effects of irradiation. Ion irradiation is a method whereby charged ions collide with matter's lattice atoms to transmit their energy to specific target atoms. Structural damage and ion track creation in the intended material are caused by this energy transfer. Depending on how the material interacts with surfaces, it may exhibit various enhanced characteristics. The mass, charge, energy, and type of incident ions determine the interaction between energetic ions and target atoms. The creation of defects, structural changes, substrate effect, types of defects and applications of graphene and its derivative were systematically summarized in this reviewed. An irradiation-based modification reveals the enhancement in specific capacitance, optical bandgap tuning, increase in power conversion efficiency, enhanced detection ability, better average extraction/reinsertion voltage and theoretical capacity. The applications of graphene and its derivatives in various energy storage materials make them an appealing candidate for future electronic world. This work is mainly focus on the surface modifications of graphene related material modifications with ion, electron, proton, gamma, alpha irradiations. By summarizing the previous researches, also point out some of the issues that need to be further investigated.