Graphenic materials have excited the scientific community due to their exciting mechanical, thermal, and optoelectronic properties for a potential range of applications. Graphene and graphene derivatives have demonstrated application in areas stretching from composites to medicine; however, the environmental and health impacts of these materials have not been sufficiently characterized. Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most widely used graphenic derivatives due to a relatively easy and scalable synthesis, and the ability to tailor the oxygen containing functional groups through further chemical modification. In this paper, ecological and health impacts of fresh and ultrasonically altered functional graphenic materials (FGMs) were investigated. Model organisms, specifically Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Caenorhabditis elegans, were used to assess the consequences of environmental exposure to fresh and ultrasonically altered FGMs. FGMs were selected to evaluate the environmental effects of aggregation state, degree of oxidation, charge, and ultrasonication. The major findings indicate that bacterial cell viability, nematode fertility, and nematode movement were largely unaffected, suggesting that a wide variety of FGMs may not pose significant health and environmental risks.

石墨材料因其令人兴奋的机械、热和光电特性而引起了科学界的广泛潜在应用。石墨烯和石墨烯衍生物已被证明可应用于从复合材料到医药的各个领域；然而，这些材料的环境和健康影响尚未得到充分表征。氧化石墨烯（GO）是最广泛使用的石墨烯衍生物之一，因为其合成相对容易且可规模化，并且能够通过进一步的化学修饰定制含氧官能团。在本文中，研究了新鲜和超声波改变的功能石墨烯材料（FGM）的生态和健康影响。模型生物，特别是大肠杆菌、枯草芽孢杆菌和秀丽隐杆线虫，被用来评估环境暴露于新鲜和超声波改变的女性生殖器切割的后果。选择 FGM 来评估聚集状态、氧化程度、电荷和超声处理的环境影响。主要发现表明，细菌细胞活力、线虫繁殖力和线虫运动基本上不受影响，这表明多种女性生殖器切割可能不会造成重大的健康和环境风险。