Graphene — A Revolutionary Wonder Material

What Is It?

There is a new wonder material in a town, its name is Graphene, This miracle material has been sparking the interest of material scientists since its discovery. Graphene is hugely recognized as a “wonder material” due to the myriad of its astonishing properties.

Graphene, as its name suggests, is a single layer of graphite, and is considered to be an incredible little cousin of graphite, or “pencil lead,”. Pull out just one of those layers, and you have an amazing material, Graphene.

There is a real beauty in its simplicity,” and. “The future lies in pencil graphite!” are the words about this magic material that highlights its utter significance.

Thickness

One of the aspects that make graphene so cool is that it is the thinnest material you can imagine. Graphene is a two-dimensional crystal only one atom thick and you can still hold this single layer of atoms in your hand. Wow, Doesn’t that blow your mind?

It is a million times thinner than a single sheet of paper. In fact, it is so thin that it only has 2 dimensions. This means that the graphene sheets are the strongest material on this planet that form the foundation for other emerging materials like graphite and carbon nanotubes.

Is Graphene A Unique Material?

Surprisingly, graphene Isn’t a unique or rare substance, in fact it has the same carbon structure as the graphite you use every day when you draw or write with your pencil. But at the same time in 0.03″ of graphite, there are 3 Million graphene layers!

Discovery Of Graphene

Professor Andre Geim and Dr. Constantin Novoselov discovered this wonder material in 2004 at Manchester University. They were examining how efficient graphite is as a transistor. The story goes as graphene appeared thanks to sticky tape!

After they stuck this tape to a piece of graphite and pulled free a single layer of the material. This left them with graphene. In 2010 they were awarded Nobel Prize for their invention.

The 100 % pure carbon simplicity confers endless possibilities and remarkable properties on Graphene and it is predicted to be the material that changes the world.

Scientists are hoping to develop very small, stronger more powerful batteries, that could be sewn into your clothes, or even your skin!

Stronger And Lighter Material

Graphene is stronger and stiffer than diamond, yet can be stretched by a quarter of its length, like rubber.

It’s ultra-lightweight, highly elastic, extremely flexible, and extremely thin (one million times narrower than the diameter of a human hair) as to be nearly transparent — and yet it’s 200 times stronger than steel and the most impermeable material ever discovered. It’s also an exceptional conductor of both heat and electricity.

Perfect Conductor

Graphene is also an exceptional conductor of both heat and electricity. It conducts electricity better than copper. It is almost perfectly transparent since it only absorbs 2% of light. It is impermeable to gases, even those as light as hydrogen or helium.

Due to its 2D structure, electrons can flow through graphene at virtually the speed of light. Computers based on graphene transistors are thousands of times faster than their silicon-based counterparts.

Transforming Transportation

Composite materials consisting of graphene are incorporated into cars and aircraft, making them lightweight, more fuel-efficient, stronger, and safer.

Washable Wearables

Graphene inks are used to print electronic circuits onto polyester fabrics and have a wide range of applications from fashion to health monitors and energy harvesting.

Solving The Growing Water Crisis

Graphene membranes have been synthesized and are efficiently used for the desalination and purification of seawater.

Fire Fighting

Wallpaper incorporating graphene-based ink can detect fire and automatically trigger an alarm.

Saving Lives

Dual layers of graphene are used to form a material called diamine, which can be transformed from flexible to hard and stiff as a diamond and is used as Ultralight waterproof coatings or lightweight bulletproof armor.

Highly sensitive, graphene-based liquid sensors can also be used to track babies’ heart and breathing rates to help to prevent Crib death

Applications In Science-Fiction

Flat lenses made from gold covered with graphene can control and bend light — making it theoretically possible to produce Invisibility cloak

Conclusion

One significant challenge for graphene is the difficulty of producing it on a commercial scale. But about thirteen thousand graphene-related patents have been filed, because of the greater potential of interest. So the applications of this tremendous material discussed in this article are just the tip of the iceberg.