REVIEW ARTICLE A brief overview on synthesis and applications of graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials Maria COROŞ (✉), Florina POGĂCEAN, Lidia MĂGERUŞAN, Crina SOCACI, and Stela PRUNEANU National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Street, Cluj-Napoca 400293, Romania © Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 ABSTRACT: Graphene is a remarkable material with great potential in many applica- tions due to its chemical and physical properties. In this review we briefly present the recent research progress (2016-2018) in graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials synthesis and discuss the practical aspects of using the materials produced via these methods for different graphene-based applications. KEYWORDS: graphene synthesis; nanomaterials; graphene-based applications Contents 1 Introduction 2 Recent progress of graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials synthesis 2.1 Top-down synthesis 2.1.1 Liquid-phase exfoliation 2.1.2 Electrochemical exfoliation 2.1.3 Chemical reduction of graphene oxide 2.2 Bottom-up synthesis 2.2.1 Epitaxial method 2.2.2 CVD synthesis 2.2.3 Chemical synthesis from aromatic molecules 3 Conclusion and outlook Acknowledgement References 1 Introduction Graphene, one of the carbon allotropes, has received increasing attention from the scientific community since the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics accorded for “ground- breaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional (2D) material graphene”. Since then the number of papers and patents related to graphene and graphene-based nanoma- terials synthesis and applications gained a rapid increase and is still growing [1]. Graphene-based nanomaterials revealed unique features and there are highlighted new routes for the easy and proficient preparation of graphene- based nanocomposites with applications in various fields (Fig. 1) [2]. In the recent years many review works discussed the topics of synthesis and applications of graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials [2–6]. To cite just few recent works, Mohan et al. reviewed the latest outcomes in graphene production techniques, properties and their environmental applications, toxicity and safe handling protocols [7]. Wang et al. discussed the recent advances in the synthesis and drug delivery application of graphene- based nanomaterials [8]. The exfoliation of graphene by mechanical, chemical and thermal reduction and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was also summarized [9]. Another recent review focuses on the most significant papers related to graphene-based electrochemical sensors for the deter- mination of hazardous ions [10]. Wu et al. systematically Received August 2, 2018; accepted October 19, 2018 E-mail: maria.coros@itim-cj.ro Front. Mater. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-019-0452-5