This review provides a brief but comprehensive understanding of the different roles of graphene in heterogeneous catalysis,i.e., its use as a catalyst support and its intrinsic catalytic properties originating from the defects and heteroatom-containing functionalities.

Graphene has been successfully modified with palladium nanoparticles in a facile manner by reducing palladium acetate [Pd(OAc)₂] in the present of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), which is used as both surfactant and the reducing agent. The palladium nanoparticle-graphene hybrids (Pd-graphene hybrids) are characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the Pd-graphene hybrids can act as an efficient catalyst for the Suzuki reaction under aqueous and aerobic conditions, with the reaction reaching completion in as little as 5 min. The influence of the preparation conditions on the catalytic activities of the hybrids is also investigated.

Acid catalysts are essential for various chemical reactions in the industrial hydrocarbon chemistry. Sulfonated carbon has shown promising application as a new, cheap and environmentally friendly solid acid catalyst. In this study, we prepared the sulfonated graphene acid catalyst, and it was characterized by electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, solid state ¹³C MAS NMR, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Catalytic hydrolysis of ethyl acetate shows that the sulfonated graphene has highly catalytic activity and can be repetitively used as a water-tolerant solid acid catalyst.