Poly(ether ether ketone) Nanocomposites with Graphene and Derivative Nanoreinforcements—Contemporary Scientific Paragon and Prospering Breakthroughs

Recently, poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), an engineering thermoplastics, and graphene-derived nanocomposites emerged as promising structural/device materials, attracting significant scientific attention owing to valuable morphological, mechanical/thermal resilience, electron/heat transportation, tribological features, and biological properties. Nevertheless, despite their potential, there remains a gap in comprehensive understanding of their mechanical, wear, thermal/conductivity, and biological performance. Current review addresses this gap by stating recent progresses in perusing key characteristics of these poly(ether ether ketone)/graphene nanocomposites. For this purpose, we systematically categorized and critically analyzed the past/present literature as multifunctional poly(ether ether ketone)/graphene, poly(ether ether ketone)/graphene oxide, poly(ether ether ketone)/reduced graphene oxide, and poly(ether ether ketone)/surface modified graphene/graphene oxide hybrids. We noticed variety of manufacturing strategies, such as solution route, melt mixing, in situ method, injection/compression molding, three-dimensional printing, and allied tactics along with theoretical simulation/modeling tactics for these technological materials. Depending upon graphene surface modification, matrix–nanofiller interaction, compatibility, and interface formation, PEEK/graphene hybrids exposed high-end technological applications for aeronautical engineering, fuel cell devices, and bone tissue scaffold implantation purposes. Nevertheless, future research on PEEK/graphene and PEEK/modified graphene hybrids must focus the advanced structural designs, well-defined structure–property relationships, processing techniques with well-controllable parameters, and explorations of mechanism/phenomenon involved to attain hi-tech/high performance nanocomposites.