The Development of Graphene/Silica Hybrid Composites: A Review for Their Applications and Challenges

Graphene and silica are two materials that have wide uses and applications because of their unique properties. Graphene/silica hybrid composite, which is a combination of the two, has the good properties of a combination of graphene and silica while reducing the detrimental properties of both, so that it has promising future prospects in various fields. It is very important to design a synthesis method for graphene/silica composite hybrid materials to adapt to its practical application. In this review, the synthesis strategies of graphene, silica, and hybrid graphene/silica composites such as hydrothermal, sol-gel, hydrolysis, and encapsulation methods along with their results are studied. The application of this composite is also discussed, which includes applications such as adsorbents, energy storage, biomedical fields, and catalysts. Furthermore, future research challenges and futures need to be developed so that hybrid graphene/silica composites can be obtained with promising new application prospects.