Graphene The New Wonder Material! We have all seen it in the news – there is something new and amazing, but not many people know what it actually does or why it is important. Graphene is one of those things that falls into this category, but it might be the most important development since plastic, given its properties and potential applications, so it is worth getting to know better! What exactly is graphene? How did scientists find out about it? What properties make graphene so great? We will answer all these questions and more in this article on graphene!
What Is Graphene?
Graphene is a material made up of pure carbon. It has some unique properties that are just now being discovered and understood. Graphene is about 100 times stronger than steel. It is super-thin and very light, which means it can be used in making solar cells or semiconductors. In addition, when you smash it together with some gas and make graphene oxide, it is better than any other non-stick coating on the market today.
After breaking new ground in the scientific world, graphene finally arrived on the technology scene last year as touch screens that use it as a conductor started coming out from Samsung and LG electronics. These touch screens work even if they have not been turned off properly. The results are scratch-resistant, water-resistant and tear-resistant devices that still work even after exposure to the sun. Samsung’s latest phones come with this graphene-based protective layer on top of its OLED display.
The only problem is that creating this material requires rare earth materials like graphite in large quantities, so production costs have been high so far. However, there are companies working to lower these costs by building factories dedicated to producing large amounts of these materials for commercial use!
Why Should We Care About Graphene?
Graphene is the new wonder material and is 200 times stronger than steel, yet thin as a sheet of paper. Graphene can conduct electricity better than copper. Researchers think it might be the solution to super-efficient solar cells, ultrafast electronics, and flexible electronic devices. Graphene could also lead to computers that are more powerful since it could allow for more data storage on less space by virtue of its thinness. Finally, it may be the answer to energy storage; scientists have theorized that when hydrogen and oxygen gases are placed on graphene, they will combine and release huge amounts of energy, as they become water vapor. In theory, this would create an almost endless source of clean energy.
How Does It Work?
Most materials are made of atoms that are connected to each other in one or more ways. Graphene is different. Graphene’s atoms are organized in a honeycomb shape with no chemical bonds between them, which means they are all free to do their own thing! This makes graphene an excellent conductor and great at getting heat out from things like cellphones and electric cars. It can also be used as a water filter because it lets only the tiniest bits of stuff through, trapping much larger objects like bacteria by acting like a sieve for the holes between the layers of graphene. Graphene can also act as a sensitive sensor, measuring minute changes in temperature and pressure. In fact, graphene is so sensitive that you could measure the rise in temperature when someone flips on a light switch two rooms away! However, do not worry; graphene will be able to make your life better too. Graphene has been shown to be good at detecting explosives and drugs so it might one day show up in airport security lines and drug tests! Graphene might even replace silicon chips inside your computer eventually because the material can send electricity through 10 times faster than silicon. Pretty amazing for such a tiny material!
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Potential Applications
Graphene is a two-dimensional material made of carbon atoms. These carbon atoms are bonded together to form a hexagonal lattice that is only one atom thick. Scientists theorize that graphene could be used to develop numerous new products, including batteries, water filters, and artificial retinas. Studies have shown that when the material absorbs up to 5% of its weight in liquid, it develops unusual electrical properties that could lead to cost-effective sensors for water pollution and toxic spills. Additionally, researchers at Rice University found that by applying pressure to a graphene oxide film with a diamond tip less than 10 nanometers wide; they were able to create an electric field at the point of contact, which resulted in a discharge. They believe this method may be able to produce large amounts of clean energy using hydroelectric or solar power sources. A Swedish company called Oxel plans to use graphene in a fuel cell, which generates hydrogen from natural gas without releasing any pollutants into the atmosphere. One potential application that has garnered much attention recently is graphene’s ability to be modified to conduct electricity, while still being impermeable and optically transparent. To achieve this property, manufacturers would need only add inexpensive chemical ingredients such as fluorine and oxygen molecules onto the surface of graphene flakes via plasma deposition. If successful, it would represent an entirely new generation of touch screens and flexible displays capable of powering off with no standby power consumption whatsoever.
