In order to create the graphene bubbles the researchers mixed graphene — a form of carbon — with a binding agent. They then released the solution into water and mixed it to create tiny bubbles, and the graphene and the binding agent formed hard shells around the water bubbles. When the bubbles were popped, graphene shells about 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair were left behind. The resulting structures can store 15,000 milliamp hours per gram of graphene – a much higher energy density than is possible with other materials.
Graphene could pave the way for bionic devices in living tissues that could be connected directly to your neurons. So
people with spinal injuries, for example, could re-learn how to use their limbs.
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material grapheme won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Along with this Nobel Prize in physics, they have won several awards for their research on graphene.
Graphene: 'Miracle material' will be in your home sooner than you think
By Stefanie Blendis, CNN
updated 11:41 AM EDT, Sun October 6, 2013
(CNN) -- Just under ten years ago, the Dutch-British physicist Andre Geim stumbled across a substance that would revolutionize the way we understand matter and win him and his colleague Kostya Novoselow the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics. It was graphene -- a one atom thin substance. The Professor of Physics at Manchester University talks to CNN about discovering the first ever 2-dimensional material.
CNN: Graphene has been described as a 'miracle material', but what exactly is it?
Andre Geim: It's the thinnest material you can get -- it's only one atom thick. A tiny amount can cover a huge area, so one gram could cover a whole football pitch. It's the strongest material we are aware of because you can't slice it any further. Of course, we know that atoms can be divided into elementary particles, but you can't get any material that is thinner than one atom, or it wouldn't count as a material anymore.
Graphene is stronger than diamond; it shows extraordinary heat conductance; it conducts electricity a thousand times better than copper -- the list goes on. We're talking about probably 20 superlatives which apply to graphene. Another surprise is that you can just about see it with the naked eye, even though it's only one atom thick!
CNN: Your scotch-tape method for discovering the material has gone down in science history. Tell us about that.
AG: We were trying to make graphite as thin as possible using lab equipment and for many months we struggled to make it thinner than 10,000 layers. Then we had a kind of Eureka moment. We were using scotch tape on a regular basis in the lab to clean the surface of the graphite. We would look at what was happening on the surface of the graphite and throw the scotch tape in the bin. Then we decided to take the tape out of the bin and look at it under the microscope and we saw really transparent pieces of graphite -- graphene.
CNN: Your discovery was certainly a surprise to the science world, but was it a surprise to you?
AG: Yes. We live in a 3-dimensional world. My physics intuition, developed over the last thirty years, told me that this material shouldn't exist. And if you had asked 99.9% of scientists around the world they would have said the idea of a 2D material was rubbish and that graphene shouldn't exist. And in most cases they would have been right, but in the case of graphite or graphene, and a dozen other materials like it, our intuition was completely wrong. You can reach this limit of one-atom-thin layers.
CNN: But what exactly is graphene useful for?
AG: Because of its range of extraordinary properties, people are considering using graphene in a myriad of different applications. For example, because graphene is so strong, people want to use it to reinforce plastics, making them conductive at the same time. Because it's transparent and conducts electricity, people want to use it in applications like mobile phone screens, touch screens, TV screens and so on. People are also considering using it to go beyond silicon technology and make our integrated circuits even denser and speedier. Those are just few examples.
AG: I don't dare try to predict the future, but if the speed of development of the last ten years is of any guidance we can expect to see graphene everywhere soon. Typically it takes 40 years for a new material to move from an academic lab into a consumer product, but within less than ten years graphene has jumped from our lab into an industrial lab and now there are pilot products all over the world. Governments around the world and probably more than 100 companies are spending billions on researching these materials. So, it probably deserves the superlative of the fastest developing material as well.
世界首富比尔·盖茨资助研发全世界最薄的石墨烯避孕套,厚度不到现在的一半。
这幅照片形象地向世人展示什么叫传说中的“ 约炮 ”
Ultra Thin Graphene Condoms
December 16, 2013
Ultra Thin Graphene Condoms Development In one of
the incredible applications of graphene in the health
industry, Scientists in the University of Manchester are
developing ultra thin graphene condoms. Though current
condoms are almost excellent barriers of unwanted
contaminants, they are heavy and thick — which is the
reason they …
News: miracle material graphene has been used to develop infrared sensors,
which could be inserted into contact lenses and allow the wearer to see in the dark.
Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb (hexagons or chicken-wire) crystal lattice. Researchers started to study Graphene in 2004, and since then they have found dozens of potential applications and exciting properties of this wonder material. Graphene is set to revolutionize a lot of industries, including sensors, batteries, conductors, displays, electronics, energy generation, medicine and more.
Graphene is the strongest material ever developed - 200 times stronger than steel and tougher than a diamond. It's also the world's thinnest material, and it is flexible and transparent. Graphene is also the best heat and electricity conductor. As can be expected, the research community is very excited about this material, and the business world follows suit. The commercialization of graphene is just in its infancy, but already dozens of new companies have been established to develop graphene based material, graphene production processes and other related activities.
Investing in a pure-play graphene company is not easy, as almost all of these companies are currently privately held. As we said graphene is still an early stage play and so all those graphene companies you can in find our index are usually small and young startups.
Pure-play graphene companies
There are several pure-play graphene public companies, most of them based in the UK.Haydale (AIM:HAYD) develops and markets carbon materials under the HDPlas brand. The company currently focuses on graphene, CNTs and zinc nanomaterials, and also developed metal-free graphene-based inks. In October 2013 we posted an article explaining Haydale's business and technology.
Graphene 3D Labs (TSX:GGG) is focusing on development of high-performance graphene-enhanced materials for 3D printing. The company was spun-off Graphene Labs with support from Lomiko Metals (who holds 15% of the company). In August 2014 graphene 3D Labs went public after a reverse merger with Matnic Resources.
Large companies
Several large and public companies (such as Samsung, Intel, Nokia, IBM and Sony) are involved in graphene research. While their research may be advanced (Samsung holds the largest graphene patents in the world), graphene represents a small portion of their business. Even if graphene fulfills its promise, it's hardly likely to change the company's business and revenues in any major way.
Graphene production equipment
Producing graphene is very challenging, and no one is mass producing the material yet. Some companies, however, offer some tools used in the manufacturing process, and these companies may enjoy a sales boom if/when graphene takes off. But remember that graphene producing equipment represents just one segment of these company's business.
Aixtron AG is a provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry who offers the BM Pro systems (previously called Black Magic systems). BM Pro systems can be used to deposit graphene using both chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Aixtron trades in the NASDAQ (ticker:AIXG).
Our next suggestion is to invest in companies involved with Graphite - which is actually a stake of graphene sheets. Graphite is used today in many applications and is already a big market. Some of these companies are also eyeing graphene - planning to start graphene production or investing in graphene related companies. Here are some graphite related companies that has some direct ties to graphene as well:
Bora Bora Resources (based in Australia) is a graphite exploration company with a suite of high grade graphite projects in Sri Lanka. In June 2014 Bora Bora Resources signed into a binding heads of agreement with Sri Lanka's RS Mines (a graphite miner that also produces graphite oxide (GO). BBR is also collaborating with Monash University on a graphene project. BBR is a public company, trading in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: BBR).
Focus Graphite (based in Canada) is a mid-tier junior graphite mine developer and technology developer company. Focus Graphite owns the highest-grade (roughly 16%) technology graphite resource in the world (at Lac Knife in Quebec). The company owns 40% of Graphene startup Grafoid (these two companies are also collaborating on R&D). Focus Graphite trades in the Canadian market and in the OTC market (ticker: FCSMF).
Northern Graphite Corporation is a Canadian mine development company, and its main asset is the Bissett Creek graphite project located 100km east of North Bay, Ontario. The company is alsoinvolved with Graphene research. NGC trades in the Canadian stock exchange (ticker: NGC) and in the OTC (ticker: NGPHF).
GrafTech International is a global company with more than 120 years of experience in the carbon and graphite industry. GrafTech makes an expanded natural graphite foil that keeps most of graphene's properties (thermal, electrical, and possibly acoustic). The company says that their graphite-foil is used in many devices, including the iPhone and Samsung's new TVs. The company is public and trades in the NYSE (ticker: GTI).
Australia-based Talga Resources holds a high-grade graphite mine in Sweden (in addition to gold and iron mines in Australia). The company is also producing graphene on a very small scale, but may become a full-scale graphene producer (in a Sweden-based plant).
Our final graphite company is Carbon Graphite Group, based in Chengguan Town (Xinghe). CCG manufactures and sells graphite-based products in China. CCG's products include graphite electrodes, fine grain graphite blocks and high purity graphite. CCG is also active with graphene technology research. CCG is trading in the NASDAQ's OTC market (ticker: CHGI).
Graphene companies: the comprehensive list
Graphene is an emerging technology, but the industry and market is already very much alive. Our comprehensive graphene company listing includes over a hundred companies in several categories. Click on any of the categories below to browse our extensive catalog, or use the map below to find graphene companies nearby.