Making metamaterials with... a blender

Researchers claim to have found a way to make the super material graphene right in an ordinary kitchen using a blender and dishwashing liquid.

Graphene can be created using just a high-powered mixer or blender, graphite powder, dishwashing liquid, and water, according to new research.

Graphene is the thinnest material in the world today with a thickness of only one carbon atom, transparent but stronger than steel. This material has superconducting properties and is expected to change the way electronic devices are made as well as become the future of electronics.

More and more researchers and manufacturers want to use graphene to replace semiconductors in computers, touch screens, conventional batteries and next-generation solar cells.

Scientists have recently discovered that the method of turning graphite flakes into graphene is so simple that, in principle, it can be recreated at home using household appliances. The process of creating hundreds of liters of solution containing the supermaterial sheets has just been published in the journal Nature Materials.

Physics and chemistry professor Jonathan Coleman from Trinity College Dublin and his colleagues used commonly available equipment, such as high-shear mixers and even blenders, to test their method. They first poured some graphite powder into the blender, added water, then dishwashing liquid, and turned the mixer on high speed.

They discovered that the shear force from a rapidly rotating tool in solution could reach a strength strong enough to separate graphene layers from graphite flakes, without damaging their two-dimensional structure.

"We have developed a new way to make graphene sheets. This method yields a lot of defect-free graphene. In the lab, we only make a few grams of graphene, but when we scale up, we can produce tons of the super material," Mr. Coleman emphasized.

The team tested the performance of the graphene sheets produced in this way by using them as fillers to reinforce plastic materials or as conductive elements for batteries and solar panels. They believe that creating large quantities of this high-quality and inexpensive metamaterial will enhance the application of graphene in the production of various devices.

A company that funded the research has now filed a patent application for the new method of creating graphene, Mr. Coleman revealed.

According to vietnamnet