The high specific surface area and the excellent mechanical, electrical, optical and thermal properties of graphene make it an attractive component for high-performance stimuli-responsive or ‘smart’ materials. Complementary to these inherent properties, functionalization or hybridization can substantially improve the performance of these materials. Typical graphene-based smart materials include mechanically exfoliated perfect graphene, chemical vapour deposited high-quality graphene, chemically modified graphene (for example, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) and their macroscopic assemblies or composites. These materials are sensitive to a range of stimuli, including gas molecules or biomolecules, pH value, mechanical strain, electrical field, and thermal or optical excitation. In this Review, we outline different graphene-based smart materials and their potential applications in actuators, chemical or strain sensors, self-healing materials, photothermal therapy and controlled drug delivery. We also introduce the working mechanisms of graphene-based smart materials and discuss the challenges facing the realization of their practical applications.

石墨烯的高比表面积和出色的机械，电，光学和热性能使其成为高性能刺激响应或“智能”材料的诱人组件。作为对这些固有特性的补充，功能化或杂交可以大大改善这些材料的性能。典型的基于石墨烯的智能材料包括机械剥落的完美石墨烯，化学气相沉积的优质石墨烯，化学改性的石墨烯（例如，氧化石墨烯和还原的氧化石墨烯）及其宏观组件或复合材料。这些材料对一系列刺激敏感，包括气体分子或生物分子，pH值，机械应变，电场以及热或光激发。在这篇评论中，我们概述了基于石墨烯的不同智能材料及其在执行器，化学或应变传感器，自愈材料，光热疗法和受控药物输送中的潜在应用。我们还将介绍基于石墨烯的智能材料的工作机制，并讨论实现其实际应用所面临的挑战。