Graphene (Image ©AlexanderAlUS) is an extraordinary material that has such properties that it’s considered as potentially revolutionary in the world of electronics but also in other fields. So far, the problem was the complexity of graphene production but now a group of researchers led by Jonathan Coleman of Trinity College Dublin has published a research that illustrates a cheap method of industrial production of this material.

Graphene consists of a carbon layer a single atom thick. It has a structure in which the atoms form hexagons with 120° angles. In the case of imperfections, the structure can take different forms. This material has an extraordinary strength, more than steel, and has excellent electrical properties. In 2010, physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for their research on graphene.

Graphene is produced from graphite, the problem is being able to produre this material in quantity and at the same time with a quality suitable to avoid its electric qualities being reduced. The new technique invented at Trinity College uses a kitchen blender to create good quality graphene on an industrial scale.

The team led by Jonathan Coleman put in half a liter of water 10-25 milliliters of detergent and 20-25 grams of graphite powder. With a kitchen blender they mixed it all for a time between 10 and 30 minutes and at the end they got a lot of microscopic graphene flakes suspended in the water.

To obtain graphene a delicate balance between the detergent and graphite is required. For this reason, for the moment no precise details were given about the process, which should be revealed later. The method has been patented and can be easily adapted for the industrial production of good quality graphene.

There are already graphene factories around the world but often the quality is not good, with deformed structures and contamination of various chemicals. A technique that allows the production of this material in quantity and at the same time with a good quality could be the key to the next electronic revolution and not only. There are a lot of potential applications, it’s just a matter of cost. For example, its characteristics would make it an excellent substitute for the plastics in many uses. In the coming years we may see this material everywhere.

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