Graphene made with a kitchen blender

[Chris]

Graphene is thin, strong, flexible and electrically conductive, and has the potential to transform electronics as well as other technologies.

An Irish-UK team poured graphite powder (used in pencil leads) into a blender, then added water and dishwashing liquid, mixing at high speed.

The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials.

Because of its potential uses in industry, a number of researchers have been searching for ways to make defect-free graphene in large amounts.

The material comprises a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. Graphite is effectively made up of many layers of graphene stacked on top of one another.

Jonathan Coleman from Trinity College Dublin and colleagues tested out a variety of laboratory mixers as well as kitchen blenders as potential tools for manufacturing the wonder material.

They showed that the shearing force generated by a rapidly rotating tool in solution was sufficiently intense to separate the layers of graphene that make up graphite flakes without damaging their two-dimensional structure.

BBC News - Graphene 'wonder material' made with kitchen blender

 

[Mr. H.]

Graphene May Double Solar Cell Power Harvest Hydrogen From Air - Yahoo Autos

The material could be used to harvest hydrogen from air, as well as improve the efficiency of solar cells and hydrogen fuel cells, according to a new report from CNN that describes a study published in the journal Nature.

 

[Old Rocks]

I think that any bright young person with talents in physics would do well to get into the materials science field. Graphene and so many other developments will certainly change the world that we live in in the coming generation.

 

[Mr. H.]

Road Rave How graphene a nearly magic material could revolutionize automobiles Fox News

But is there caffeine in graphene?

 

[Old Rocks]

There is caffeine in any major scientific endevour that takes a lot of effort. Doesn't get done otherwise, God bless the people that tend the coffee bean trees.

 

[Mr. H.]

There is caffeine in any major scientific endevour that takes a lot of effort. Doesn't get done otherwise, God bless the people that tend the coffee bean trees.

And I thought you had no sense of humor.