Converting waste paper to multifunctional graphene-decorated carbon paper: from trash to treasure

Proper disposal of waste paper is an important waste-management concern. We developed a facile and inexpensive method to transform waste paper into graphene-tethered carbon fiber composite paper (GCCP). Urea was the only additive for the carbonization of the GCCP. The as-obtained GCCP exhibited high electrical conductivity, and GCCP/polydimethyl siloxane (GCCP/PDMS) composites showed good stretchability with great electromechanical stability. The surface of the GCCP membrane was observed to be superhydrophobic; this property apparently endowed the membrane with the ability to separate oil from water in our experiments, which makes GCCP a promising candidate material for cleanup of oil spills. The hierarchical structure, N doping feature and low decoration with Pt make GCCP a potential electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction, oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions with superior activity and high stability, and hence also a promising candidate for application as a direct working electrode in future energy systems.