Graphene: A new miracle in the material world
It is lighter than a feather, stronger than steel, yet incredibly flexible and more conductive than copper. It has been hailed as “the miracle material”, its possible uses apparently almost endless.
The material is graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms forming a regular hexagonal pattern, extracted from graphite, with astonishing properties and impressive potential.
Unbreakable, foldable touch screens for mobile phones; a revolution in how drugs are administered; protective coating for everything from food packaging to wind turbines, faster computer chips and broadband; batteries of infinitely higher capacity than today’s – these are just a few of graphene’s possibilities.
Imagine a supermarket where you could wheel your trolley between two sensors that would scan every product immediately and give you your final bill in the blink of an eye. Graphene, it is claimed, could make this a reality.
But so far, these are just possibilities as researchers and scientists recognise that applications in the real, commercial world are still some way off.
The favoured method for making graphene is to “grow” it at 900C using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) machine, as used in Dr Belle’s lab and by American tech giant IBM in its research.
It requires carbon to be vaporised, and then the atoms are encouraged to form on another material, usually copper.
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