Tech | July 09, 2009 | 51 comments

New wonder material, one-atom thick, has scientists abuzz

source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/science/story/71495.html

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retro_Syl
Imagine a carbon sheet that's only one atom thick but is stronger than diamond and conducts electricity 100 times faster than the silicon in computer chips.

That's graphene, the latest wonder material coming out of science laboratories around the world. It's creating tremendous buzz among physicists, chemists and electronic engineers.

"It is the thinnest known material in the universe, and the strongest ever measured," Andre Geim, a physicist at the University of Manchester, England, wrote in the June 19 issue of the journal Science.

"A few grams could cover a football field," said Rod Ruoff, a graphene researcher at the University of Texas, Austin, in an e-mail. A gram is about 1/30th of an ounce.

Like diamond, graphene is pure carbon. It forms a six-sided mesh of atoms that, through an electron microscope, looks like a honeycomb or piece of chicken wire. Despite its strength, it's as flexible as plastic wrap and can be bent, folded or rolled up like a scroll.

Graphite, the lead in a pencil, is made of stacks of graphene layers. Although each individual layer is tough, the bonds between them are weak, so they slip off easily and leave a dark mark when you write.

Potential graphene applications include touch screens, solar cells, energy storage devices, cell phones and, eventually, high-speed computer chips.

Replacing silicon, the basic electronic material in computer chips, however, "is a long way off . . . far beyond the horizon," said Geim, who first discovered how to produce graphene five years ago.

"In the near and medium term, it's going to be extremely difficult for graphene to displace silicon as the main material in computer electronics," said Tomas Palacios, a graphene researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Silicon is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been perfecting silicon processing for 40 years."

Government and university laboratories, long-established companies such as IBM, and small start-ups are working to solve difficult problems in making graphene and turning it into useful products.

Ruoff founded a company in Austin called Graphene Energy, which is seeking ways to store renewable energy from solar cells or the energy captured from braking in autos.

The Pentagon is also interested in this new high-tech material. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is spending $22 million on research to make computer chips and transistors out of graphene.

Graphene was the leading topic at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society — a leading organization of physicists — in Pittsburgh in April. Researchers packed 23 panel sessions on the topic. About 1,500 scientific papers on graphene were published in 2008 alone.

Until last year, the only way to make graphene was to mount flakes of graphite on sticky tape and separate a single layer by carefully peeling away the tape. They called it the "Scotch Tape technique."

Recently, however, scientists have discovered a more efficient way to produce graphene on an underlying base of copper, nickel or silicon, which subsequently is etched away.

"There has been spectacular progress in the last two or three months," Geim reported in the journal Science. "Challenges that looked so daunting just two years ago have suddenly shrunk, if not evaporated."

"I'm confident there will be many commercial applications," Ruoff said. "We will begin to see hybrid devices — mostly made from silicon, but with a critical part of the device being graphene — in niche applications."
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51 comments // New wonder material, one-atom thick, has scientists abuzz

  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  

    • I feel the need to point out that anyone who needed to be told what a gram is definitely wouldn't understand the rest of the article.

      And, to echo an earlier comment, humanity ftw.

    • 2 years ago
  • davesarush
  • ras_menelik
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  

    • so what is it good for?

      The Space Elevator will reduce the cost of getting from earth to space. It will also allow us to take very large payloads into space very easily, very safely. Because of that, we can build cities on the moon. We can build space stations. We can build large solar arrays in space to collect energy from the sun and beam it down to earth.

    • 2 years ago
  • dainjdc
  • r3sidual
    • 0
      r3sidual  

    • I find it interesting that although graphene may be a better semiconductor than silicon the average person may not benefit from it for another 15 years simply because other companies have too much money invested in silicon.

      NASA, the DOD and other specialized entities may use graphene since it's better but not Mr. & Mrs. Smith. How many other great inventions may never be fully utilized for people's benefit because it wouldn't enhance corporate profits and thus it would hurt a country's economy?

    • 2 years ago
  • noonstar
    • 0
      noonstar  

    • Sounds like the material they found at the Roswell crash sight that was supposed to be an "air baloon"
      Vedy intedesting! lol

    • 2 years ago
  • Raveway
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • Raveway:

      That part is what makes it new in terms of the amount of progress made

      "Recently, however, scientists have discovered a more efficient way to produce graphene on an underlying base of copper, nickel or silicon, which subsequently is etched away.

      "There has been spectacular progress in the last two or three months," Geim reported in the journal Science. "Challenges that looked so daunting just two years ago have suddenly shrunk, if not evaporated."

    • 2 years ago
  • kreddig
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  

    • The "killer app" for this kind of nanotech would be for building specialized devices that could be implanted for medical and communication purposes

    • 2 years ago
  • aj727b
    • 0
      aj727b  

    • IBM has already made ultra-miniaturized 26 GHz graphene transistors, showing that the Moore's law progression of computing power will continue past the limitations of silicon chips using these new carbon-based materials. Engineered carbon materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and the new diamond materials made through vapor deposition are some of the next big things that will help humankind progress, imho.

      http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Ibm-NYSE-IBM-932092.html

    • 2 years ago
  • Virtual_Will_Rogers
    • 0
      Virtual_Will_Rogers  

    • ...I think it should be put on the bottom of basketball shoes....and the tires of flying cars....Disney...you were so ahead of your time...in 10,000 years archaeologists will be pondering....what was this Mouse that these people worshiped and built monuments and cities in honor of.....Golden Ruler without Flubber...Will

    • 2 years ago
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  

    • Could Spiderman's webbing be made of nanotubes/graphene; it would have to be somewhat "Velcro like" ...(not the organic stuff parker spits out in the movies-but the material he manufactures in the graphic novel milieu )

    • 2 years ago
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • remanns:

      Again no since carbon doesn't have the adhesive properties.

      Spiderman's webbing is a special synthetic polymer adhesive that has spider web-like properties. Upon release, the webbing dries into an extremely tough, flexible, adhesive fiber. One account described a single strand as stronger than piano wire and it is perhaps as strong as real spider silk or Kevlar. the tensile strength of the webbing is equivalent to 120 lb (54 kg) per square millimeter in cross-section and is comparable to nylon with extraordinary adhesive properties.

    • 2 years ago
  • retro_Syl
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • remanns:

      That is twice wrong since it is easy to say yes but then how do you explain that carbon is more suited to be a lubricant than an adhesive?

      Graphite, one of the softest materials known, is a form of carbon that is primarily used as a lubricant. Although it does occur naturally, most commercial graphite is produced by treating petroleum coke, a black tar residue remaining after the refinement of crude oil, in an oxygen-free oven. Naturally occurring graphite occurs in two forms, alpha and beta. These two forms have identical physical properties but different crystal structures. All artificially produced graphite is of the alpha type. In addition to its use as a lubricant, graphite, in a form known as coke, is used in large amounts in the production of steel. Coke is made by heating soft coal in an oven without allowing oxygen to mix with it.

    • 2 years ago
  • mike4420
  • eldamon
    • 0
      eldamon  

    • I'm thinking this stuff would make a great bullet proof vest among other things. The major problem is going to be supplanting silicon. As the article states it's a multi-billion dollar industry much like the oil industry. That alone has slowed the growth of better more efficient alternatives. This is one of the major flaws of a purely capitalistic economic system.

    • 2 years ago
  • chivideoguy
  • Virtual_Will_Rogers
    • 0
      Virtual_Will_Rogers  
    • chivideoguy:

      ...Universal Knowledge....Thought Reception...where all things begin...there would be so much more if Earth people were not such War Whores...there does not have to be conspiracies.all things come to us...not from us...we are only solar powered computers...mostly programmed with Bullshit....not all...just too many...lower the Pirate flag...others want to stop on Earth and eat watermelons...in Peace and spit the seeds in the Grand Canyon...only place in the Universe that has them....Will

    • 2 years ago
  • neocongo
  • retro_Syl
  • TechnoNut
    • 0
      TechnoNut  
    • neocongo:

      Hmm somehow I really doubt it. a few grams of material spread over a football field is mostly empty space. I'm eduma-guessing that it would be invisible.
      Good question though. It's the 1st question that popped into my mind also :)

    • 2 years ago
  • brit50
    • 0
      brit50  

    • Very cool. I think in ten to fifteen yrs. graphene has a chance to be a completely viable use for computers, etc. But, it is interesting to find how it could be potentially very toxic.

    • 2 years ago
  • good_stuff
    • 0
      good_stuff  

    • The toxicity argument is a very surprising one. Thanks for the post I had never thought about that.

      If it weren't for the toxicity, I would love to have some clothing made out of this stuff. Imagine, you would feel completely naked. Is it opaque at that thickness? Maybe just a small coating on the sole of shoes would make them never wear out.

    • 2 years ago
  • Krisard
  • retro_Syl
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • Krisard:

      No since carbon isn't a component of Adamantium because it is a metalic alloy different elements besides carbon are used.

      Adamantium is created by mixing several chemical resins together; the adamantium can be molded into different shapes for approximately eight minutes as long as the mixture is kept at a temperature of 1,500 °F (816°C). Adamantium's extremely stable molecular structure prevents it from being further molded after this eight-minute time period even if the temperature is high enough to keep it in its liquified form. In its solid form, it is colorless, shiny, and resembles high-grade steel or titanium. It is almost impossible to destroy or fracture in this state and when crafted to a razor edge it can penetrate most lesser materials with minimal application of strength.

    • 2 years ago
  • unimatrix0
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  
    • Krisard:

      Types of adamantium

      Secondary adamantium

      As true adamantium is extremely difficult and expensive to create or manipulate, some parties found a way to duplicate it on a larger and more cost-effective scale at the expense of quality and durability. For most practical purposes, this secondary adamantium is also largely indestructible. Conventional weapons, such as ballistic missiles, have no effect on it; it is far stronger than even the most durable of titanium or steel compounds. However, extraordinary blunt force, such as a punch from a being with superhuman strength, can warp or break it. Unconventional forms of energy discharges have also been known to warp or damage secondary adamantium, such as Thor's lightning attacks using Mjolnir. Writers created secondary adamantium to deal with supposedly indestructible adamantium having been damaged or destroyed in the past; all such instances were retconned as appearances of secondary adamantium.

      Adamantium beta

      Adamantium beta is a new metal created as a side-effect of the process of bonding true adamantium to Wolverine's bones. His Healing Factor not only allowed him to survive the process, but also induced a molecular change in the metal. Adamantium beta functions identically to true adamantium, but it does not inhibit the biological processes of bone. Adamantium beta was first explained in Wolverine (vol.2) #80 (1994).

      Carbonadium

      Carbonadium is a resilient, unstable metal that is vastly stronger than steel but more flexible than adamantium. It is stated in X-Men vol.2 #7 that carbonadium is, in fact, both a more malleable and cheaper version of adamantium. Due to its malleability, carbonadium is less durable than true adamantium, but still nearly indestructible. Omega Red (an adversary of The X-Men) has carbonadium coils through which he can transmit his ability to drain life energies. Carbonadium is highly radioactive and a very small amount, if ingested, has proven capable of dramatically slowing down Wolverine's healing factor. The only device that can produce carbonadium, known as the Carbonadium Synthesizer, was initially believed thrown into a river in Brussels by Wolverine; it has since been revealed that the Carbonadium Synthesizer had been hidden on the deceased body of a double-agent who died escaping Omega Red along with Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick. The synthesizer was retrieved and handed back to Maverick, whose mission was to retrieve the item for parties unknown. If implanted within the body, objects composed of carbonadium have proven to slow the accelerated healing factors of Wolverine[1] and his son Daken.[2] While slowed considerably, their healing powers aren't completely suppressed. It is currently unknown if carbonadium affects other beings with superhuman healing powers in a similar manner.

      Allotropes

      In X-Men #191, when confronting Wolverine, one of the Children of the Vault named Serafina claims that adamantium has thirteen allotropes, all of which are "unstable, and short-lived, but virulently poisonous". She throws a small device that clamps onto his claws and makes them glow green, claiming that it is adamantium nine. This causes Wolverine to become stricken, incoherent and collapse.

    • 2 years ago
  • CreditFigaro
  • Sam_the_Wizer
    • 0
      Sam_the_Wizer  

    • I think it's interesting that they compare the conductivity to silicon when silicon is not a conductor. Silicon is doped to increase its conductivity for use as a semiconductor. Perhaps they mean that graphene can be used to dope silicon instead of the more rare elements that are currently used.

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  
    • Sam_the_Wizer:

      you are almost correct............

      The property of semiconductors that makes them most useful for constructing electronic devices is that their conductivity may easily be modified by introducing impurities into their crystal lattice. The process of adding controlled impurities to a semiconductor is known as doping. The amount of impurity, or dopant, added to an intrinsic (pure) semiconductor varies its level of conductivity. Doped semiconductors are often referred to as extrinsic. By adding impurity to pure semiconductors, the electrical conductivity may be varied not only by the number of impurity atoms but also, by the type of impurity atom and the changes may be thousand folds and million folds. For example - 1 cm3 of a metal or semiconductor specimen has a number of atoms of the order of 1022. Since every atom in metal donates at least one free electron for conduction in metal, 1 cm3 of metal contains number of free electrons in the order of 1022. At the temperature close to 20 °C , 1 cm3 of pure germanium contains about 4.2 × 1022 atoms and 2.5 × 1013 free electrons and 2.5 × 1013 holes (empty spaces in crystal lattice having positive charge) The addition of 0.001% of arsenic (impurity) donates extra 1017 free electrons in the same volume and the electrical conductivity increases about 10,000 times. "

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_(semiconductor)

    • 2 years ago
  • Virtual_Will_Rogers
    • 0
      Virtual_Will_Rogers  

    • This came up twice to me so I will respond twice...from different people....this is not a problem..and it doesn't matter which came first...the chicken or Current posts...good news I can not get enough of...its the bad shit I am tired of...This is great news...and maybe someone can use Carbon Dioxide to help produce it....all the answers are there if people will just listen...and the answer is to never use a miracle to kill or harm anything.....there are many watching this old cruise ship that goes a million miles each day and wanting to share knowledge and gifts...all we have to do is lower the Pirate flag....Golden Ruler....Will

    • 2 years ago
  • StandaboveUnderstand
  • retro_Syl
  • Panzer_Tanzler
  • islek
  • ras_menelik
  • Panzer_Tanzler
  • Valence
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  

    • Toxicity

      Determining the toxicity of carbon nanotubes has been one of the most pressing questions in nanotechnology. Unfortunately such research has only just begun and the data is still fragmentary and subject to criticism. Preliminary results highlight the difficulties in evaluating the toxicity of this heterogeneous material. Parameters such as structure, size distribution, surface area, surface chemistry, surface charge, and agglomeration state as well as purity of the samples, have considerable impact on the reactivity of carbon nanotubes. However, available data clearly show that, under some conditions, nanotubes can cross membrane barriers, which suggests that if raw materials reach the organs they can induce harmful effects such as inflammatory and fibrotic reactions.[26]

      A study led by Alexandra Porter from the University of Cambridge shows that CNTs can enter human cells and accumulate in the cytoplasm, causing cell death.[27]

      Results of rodent studies collectively show that regardless of the process by which CNTs were synthesized and the types and amounts of metals they contained, CNTs were capable of producing inflammation, epithelioid granulomas (microscopic nodules), fibrosis, and biochemical/toxicological changes in the lungs. Comparative toxicity studies in which mice were given equal weights of test materials showed that SWCNTs were more toxic than quartz, which is considered a serious occupational health hazard when chronically inhaled. As a control, ultrafine carbon black was shown to produce minimal lung responses.[28]

      The needle-like fiber shape of CNTs, similar to asbestos fibers, raises fears that widespread use of carbon nanotubes may lead to mesothelioma, cancer of the lining of the lungs often caused by exposure to asbestos. A recently-published pilot study[29] supports this prediction. Scientists exposed the mesothelial lining of the body cavity of mice, as a surrogate for the mesothelial lining of the chest cavity, to long multiwalled carbon nanotubes and observed asbestos-like, length-dependent, pathogenic behavior which included inflammation and formation of lesions known as granulomas. Authors of the study conclude:

      "This is of considerable importance, because research and business communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous than graphite. Our results suggest the need for further research and great caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided."[30]

      According to co-author Dr. Andrew Maynard:

      "This study is exactly the kind of strategic, highly focused research needed to ensure the safe and responsible development of nanotechnology. It looks at a specific nanoscale material expected to have widespread commercial applications and asks specific questions about a specific health hazard. Even though scientists have been raising concerns about the safety of long, thin carbon nanotubes for over a decade, none of the research needs in the current U.S. federal nanotechnology environment, health and safety risk research strategy address this question."[31] Video commentary

      Although further research is required, results presented today clearly demonstrate that, under certain conditions, especially those involving chronic exposure, carbon nanotubes can pose a serious risk to human health.

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  
    • Image

    • carbon nanoribbon?

      Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 28,000,000:1,[1] which is significantly larger than any other material. These cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science, as well as potential uses in architectural fields. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat. Their final usage, however, may be limited by their potential toxicity.

      Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural family, which also includes the spherical buckyballs. The ends of a nanotube might be capped with a hemisphere of the buckyball structure. Their name is derived from their size, since the diameter of a nanotube is on the order of a few nanometers (approximately 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair), while they can be up to several millimeters in length (as of 2008). Nanotubes are categorized as single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs).

      The nature of the bonding of a nanotube is described by applied quantum chemistry, specifically, orbital hybridization. The chemical bonding of nanotubes is composed entirely of sp2 bonds, similar to those of graphite. This bonding structure, which is stronger than the sp3 bonds found in diamonds, provides the molecules with their unique strength. Nanotubes naturally align themselves into "ropes" held together by Van der Waals forces. Under high pressure, nanotubes can merge together, trading some sp² bonds for sp³ bonds, giving the possibility of producing strong, unlimited-length wires through high-pressure nanotube linking.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube

    • 2 years ago
  • NumLock
  • retro_Syl
  • islek
  • mattbrawn
    • 0
      mattbrawn  

    • "It is the thinnest known material in the universe, and the strongest ever measured"

      is one hell of a statement. It's kinda hard to even get your brain around it. One atom thick, that's nothing.

    • 2 years ago
  • islek
  • Webs961
    • 0
      Webs961  
    • mattbrawn:

      Remember, we're talking relative terms here. In terms of strength as most people would think, you would have to find some way to mount many layers of that stuff on top of one another which would be extremely easy to break due to the carbon-carbon bonding forces between already full carbon atoms.

      So strong at the atomic level? Sure. Strongest at the "practical everyday use" level, no.

    • 2 years ago
  • jh64487
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