Production of graphene directly from biomass precursor

A method of producing isolated graphene sheets directly from a biomass, said method comprising:

• A) providing a biomass in a liquid state, solution state, solid state, or semi-solid state wherein said biomass is selected from a lignocellulosic biomass or non-lignocellulosic biomass, wherein the lignocellulosic biomass comprises hemicellulose, lignin, a chemical derivative thereof, or a combination thereof and non-lignocellulosic biomass comprises a carbohydrate, polysaccharide, protein, a chemical derivative thereof, or a combination thereof;
• B) heat treating said biomass at a temperature selected from a range of 100° C. to 3,200° C. and, concurrently, operating a chemical or mechanical means to form graphene domains dispersed in a disordered matrix of carbon or hydrocarbon molecules, wherein said graphene domains are each composed of from 1 to 30 planes of hexagonal carbon atoms or fused aromatic rings having a length or width from 5 nm to 20 μm and, in the situations wherein there are 2-30 planes in a graphene domain, having an inter-graphene space between two planes of hexagonal carbon atoms or fused aromatic rings no less than 0.34 nm;
• and
• C) separating and isolating said planes of hexagonal carbon atoms or fused aromatic rings to recover graphene sheets from said disordered matrix;
• wherein said biomass includes an additive dispersed in said biomass during said heat treating step, wherein said additive is selected from a template, a chemical functionalization agent, or a combination thereof wherein the additive regulates a thermal transformation process of the biomass during the heat treating step.