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What is graphene, graphene properties and applications

Graphene is considered by many as the material of the future but the truth is that this super-material is already a reality.The properties of graphene make this substance unique and that its applications present and future seem to be taken from a science fiction book.

There are fields of study, technologies and products that, due to their disruptive nature, have the potential to change the world forever.For example, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence or graphene can generate revolutions similar to those promoted by industrial robots, internet or plastic.

As a great enthusiast of science and technology I have been following the track to this material for several years and in this article I want Share with you the answer to the most fascinating questions about this material.

What is graphene? What is graphite?

In broad strokes we could say that graphene is a very thin layer of pure carbon whose atoms are hexagonally linked together following a honeycomb pattern The distance between each of the carbon atoms is 0.143 nanometers and for us to get an idea of ​​how fine graphene is, if we stack 3 million sheets one on top of the other, its thickness would be only 1 mm.

This set of stacked graphene layers is known as graphite.The graphite is a material that can be extracted in natural deposits and that can be found in objects as everyday as the tips of the pencils.

In graphite graphene layers are joined together by weak links known as Van der Walls forces .This data although it seems a bit technical, is important to understand more Go ahead how graphene is obtained.

Who discovered graphene?

Muc ha people ask online Who invented graphene? but that is not the question to ask, because graphene has not been invented but discovered.So, who discovered graphene?

The truth is that although it may seem like a very recent discovery , graphene was already known (or rather intuited) since 1859 when the chemist Benjamin Collins realized how highly laminated the graphite oxide structure was.At first he did not give much importance to this material since that was considered thermodynamically unstable, but once the possible properties of graphene were discovered, there were many scientists who unsuccessfully sought the way to extract a single layer of graphene.This was so extremely complicated, that the finest sheets that managed to extract were formed by 50 to 100 layers.

It wasn't until 2004 when physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester managed to isolate a sheet of graphene c on a less original and curious method and that would lead them to win the Nobel Prize in physics in 2010 .

What is graphene, graphene properties and applications

Andre and Konstantin frequently stayed on Friday nights to experience different theories and techniques that often were not related to their fields of study.One of these nights they managed to extract some graphene sheets using just masking tape.They glued this adhesive tape against graphite and it adhered in different thicknesses to the tape.Between the different thicknesses that were stuck they found sheets with a single atom of thickness.They had managed to isolate graphite in a really surprising and simple way!>

The ease of extracting these layers simply with adhesive tape is found as we have said before in the weakness of the Van der Walls links that bind them.

Graphene properties

Now comes the interesting thing: Why so much stir with graphene? Well, mainly because the properties of graphene are impressive.Do you want to know some of them?

  • Graphene is a great semiconductor: Conducts electric current up to 1,000 times better than copper.Also conducts heat up to 10 times better.
  • Its strength is huge: If we compare it with structural steel, graphene is about 200 times stronger.
  • It's very flexible: You could bend it 20% without damaging it.
  • It is transparent: Graphene is 98% transparent.
  • It is two-dimensional: As we have said before, this makes it a very rare material, with unusual electrical and electronic properties.
  • Very light: More light than carbon fiber.
  • Very reactive: It can react chemically with other substances to form new compounds.

As you can imagine , the properties of graphene are what make this material such an interesting field and with so many possibilities.Scientists around the world are already studying how to apply this material in hundreds of different everyday applications.In the next section we will see some d and the technologies that can really benefit from the insertion of graphene in their respective manufacturing processes.

Uses and applications of graphene

There are many possible applications of graphene and not only in the field of electronics and energy, but also in the world of materials.

Graphene batteries

Tired of your mobile phone not reaching the end of the day because of Battery? Well, with graphene batteries this problem could be coming to an end.

Thanks to the properties of graphene, the batteries of this material tripled in potential to the current lithium-ion batteries.But that is not everything, in addition to the greater storage of energy, these batteries can be charged in seconds, they are lighter, they have a longer useful life and they are also flexible.

We have also talked in Science Daily Online about electric cars and how One of its main problems was the autonomy of its lithium-ion batteries.In this case, with graphene batteries the autonomy could be increased up to 1,000 kilometers away.Goodbye oil!

Microprocessors graphene

What is graphene, graphene properties and applications

The power of microprocessors and other electronic components could be exponentially improved.It cannot replace silicon as a semiconductor, in fact, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has already managed to develop the first 1,000GHZ microchip, about 300 times faster than current chips.

In addition to this , graphene microprocessors do not get so hot and are much more energy efficient.That is, they consume much less electricity to carry out their work.

If we combine graphene microprocessors (which consume less) and graphene batteries ( that have more capacity), we will get computers, cameras, phones and other appliances much more powerful and much more durable.

Graphene solar panels

What is graphene, graphene properties and applications

Solar energy is one of the most renewable energies promising.Thanks to her, in the not too distant future, we can definitely say goodbye to the sources of e nergia based on fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas).The advantages of this are clear: Renewable energies do not pollute and they are also unlimited.

How does the graphene effect ? Easy; Indio is currently used to make solar panels, but the properties of graphene make it much more efficient in this task and it is also cheaper than the Indian.

Thanks to this, the price of technology could be greatly reduced solar and (if governments allow it) lead to a change of energetic era.

Water purification with graphene

Graphene is a hydrophobic material, that is, it repels water with a lot effectiveness.Thanks to this property, graphene could become an important water purifier.

If a graphene sheet is pores along its surface, this sheet could be used as an ultra-effective filter.to separate the water from the rest of polluting substances.The good thing about this The technique is that it would be energetically very efficient and therefore good for the environment.

Best of all, the technology of microperforating graphene has already been achieved and it is only a matter of time to start seeing these advances applied in a real ones.

Other possible applications of graphene

There are so many possible applications of graphene, that if I developed all of this article, you would need a month to finish of reading it and I for at least a year to finish writing it.That is why I detail below other applications of graphene that are already being studied or that are more than viable for the near future:

  • High-speed Internet with graphene up to 10 times faster than fiber optics.
  • Add graphene to materials such as concrete, steel or plastics to make them much stronger and lighter.
  • Graphene manages to reduce friction even better than oil.It would work very well as a lubricant.
  • Graphene paint .Composed of nanofibers of this material that make it much more resistant and durable.
  • DNA sequencing .Thanks to graphene, the time and cost of sequencing DNA strands could be reduced.

A Spanish company world vanguard

When I started my research on graphene I was pleasantly surprised to find a Spanish company at the forefront of graphene and graphene derivatives research and production.

Based in Yecla , Murcia, Graphenano Nanotechnologies produces graphene in large quantities and integrates it into different applications such as batteries, paints and materials improvement.

Among the milestones of this company is having developed a graphene battery for cars with a Potential autonomy of 800km, has created a painting with a total resistance of up to 10 years or create a concrete additive that improves all the characteristics that "affect the durability of concrete and compromise its good behavior over time".

Conclusions

Graphene properties have It has become a technological promise that will revolutionize all areas of our lives, but despite this promising future, there is not much left to do.Research has to continue and the new derivatives of this material have to start To consolidate, that is why we have to support all these types of initiatives.

The Science Daily Online.com community is full of innovators and passionate about technology.I am sure that more than one will end up working in the future for a company related to graphene.What do you think about graphene? Would you like us to continue dealing with issues like that? Leave us a comment or continue with us the conversation through social networks.

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