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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Ultrastrong Paper from Graphene

Continued from page 1

By Prachi Patel-Predd

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In an effort to develop superstrong lightweight materials, others have used carbon nanotubes. And the new graphene-oxide paper is not as strong as carbon-nanotube films, Geim says. "The advantage of materials made from carbon nanotubes is they're much tougher, because they entangle like spaghetti," he says. "When you're dealing with flat sheets, they entangle very little and are breakable."

But the graphene-oxide paper has other key advantages. Graphite is a cheap raw material, and the filtration method is simple and leads to lots of graphene. Most important, the Northwestern researchers' work opens up a way to manipulate graphene sheets and make paperlike materials with different properties.

When Ruoff and his colleagues oxidize graphene into graphene oxide, for instance, the carbon-based material goes from being an electrical conductor to being an insulator. Ruoff says that he can alter graphene's chemistry in other ways to change its electrical properties and make it an insulator, a conductor, or even a semiconductor.

That electrical versatility combines with an ultrastrong material has some observers excited. "They haven't used any tough glue between the [graphene platelets]," Geim says. "I expect very, very tough materials if a proper glue between graphene is used."

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Comments

  • Electronic circuits and circuit boards made of Graphene sheets?
    sunnyvale on 07/25/2007 at 2:25 PM
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    Is it possible to make electronic circuits and circuit boards (interconnection board) using these graphene sheets? Maybe using something like the etching process using photo masks? Since the electronic properties can be manipulated, can you manipulate them actively (using electrical signals and contacts made of other materials) to build active switches? Some wild possibilities exploration...
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Sandwich Composites
    sanman on 07/26/2007 at 12:28 AM
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    What about nano-laminate sandwich composites? If you alternated the graphene sheets with glue layers or something else that's tougher, then perhaps you could build a very high-strength composite material.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Sounds great, but can they mass produce it?
    Hardheadjarhead on 07/26/2007 at 9:54 AM
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    15
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    5/5
    Since sliced bread...eh?

    One of the big beefs I see with this and other articles like it on the 'net is that they all "promise" great things.  It is one thing to do it in a lab, another to crank out this stuff by the pound or ton. 

    IF we could do that, we could sandwich this stuff together with other materials.  IF they could do that we could have cheap, durable airplane and car bodies.  IF we could do that we could have body and vehicle armor that would be simply incredible.  If. If. If.

    Sorry to sound jaded, but so often...it seems...none of this ever pans out.
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: Sounds great, but can they mass produce it?
      sgilje on 01/14/2008 at 5:48 PM
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      1
      Yes this can be mass produced. It requires graphite powder, which is already produced industrially; basic laboratoy acids, Sulfuric Acid or Nitric Acid; and and oxidizing salt such as Potassum Permangenate or Sodium Chlorate. Producing something on a commercial scale also has much to do with development. Im sure that high grade silicon and carbon fiber were not supplied on a large scale when the microelectronics or composites inductries first started. Over the years, fabrication facilities have increased in size and cost has been reduced allowing carbon fiber to be used for commercial applications, same for silicon.  
      Rate this comment: 12345
  • Sails
    technical nomad on 07/28/2007 at 2:56 AM
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    1
    A new discovery!  One more piece to the puzzle.  I am thinking of a perfectly shaped sail for sailboats with little stretch.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Graphene Oxide?
    Ed_E on 07/29/2007 at 12:46 AM
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    1
    Isn't this carbon we are talking about?  Monoxide or dioxide?  Obviously some other ratio, using oxygen to and carbon to make a 2 dimentional polymer.  Graphene to make the flat sheet, Oxygen or Oxidizing agent to seal the edges?
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • What are the X-Y dimensions of graphene
    Alan A on 07/24/2008 at 5:14 PM
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    1
    Okay, I get this much: About one atom thick in the "Z" dimension (monoatomic layer). How about in the X-Y plane? How wide are these sheets at the current stage? So far we have been talking micron dimensions. Any likelihood of growing (or stiching together) graphene sheets to millimeter or centimeter sizes in the Y-Z plane?
    Rate this comment: 12345
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