Graphene Does What? 15 Things You Never Knew About The Miracle Material

In 2004, scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, of the University of Manchester, discovered an allotrope of carbon on a 2-dimensional atomic scale. They unearthed this idea by sticking scotch tape onto pieces of graphite found in pencil lead, and peeling it off.  Thus the name, ‘graphene’.   Shortly after their discovery, it was found that graphene sheets, while only a single atom thick, were many times stronger than steel by weight. In fact, in order to penetrate a single sheet of this material, it would take an elephant balancing on a pencil, according to James Hone, a mechanical engineering professor at Columbia University. This makes graphene quite possibly the world’s strongest material known to man.

This atomic scaled, hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms created a stir of skepticism upon its discovery, as no one really knew what to do with it, or how to produce it on a mass-scale… This view has changed a bit over the past decade, as scientists have found practical ways to mass-produce graphene. The market for this material has reached over $45 million globally and currently there are over 25,000 patents, with a many of the sales being of the battery energy, electronics, semiconductor and composites industries.

With such widespread use of graphene today, many people still ask the question:”What is graphene?” Some have never even heard of it before. And others  who have may not  know all of the cool things about this material, or exactly what it can do and be used for.

With that, here are some interesting facts about graphene that you may not have known:

• Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel by weight.
• A near perfect barrier material, nothing penetrates graphene, except for hot  protons.
• Graphene is the most conductive substance known to man at room temperature. It’s more thermally conductive than diamonds.
• Graphene is one million times thinner than a sheet of paper.
• Graphene is made from carbon, one of the most abundant materials on the planet.
• Graphene has no band-gap, or the gap of energy around an electron when it bonds to an atom. This causes the atoms of graphene to act as light, as there is no gap to convert the light.  This means graphene is always ‘on’ and in its elemental state does not make a good ‘semiconductor’.
• As graphene is >97% transparent, it is an excellent raw material for displays and smart phone screens
• Graphene is the stiffest material known to man; it is the equivalent of a single atom thick sheet of  diamonds.
• Graphene has excellent ballistic conduction.
• Graphene is so impermeable that helium atoms cannot squeeze through it.
• Even though atoms cannot sneak through graphene, electrons can—making this material perfect for experimentation in high-speed quantum physics, beyond the works of CERN.

Today the best process for making large graphene sheets, is called chemical vapor deposition (CVD).. The biggest challenge in making sheets is not in the synthesis of the material but in the transferring method, or transferring graphene from its growth substrate to the area of interest in a way that is sustainable and non-destructive. Today, this material is difficult and expensive to manufacture. The good news is that there are new advances in producing graphene that are not only cost effective for consumers who wish to purchase this material, but also highly advanced in the transfer methods used, enabling lower costs and a more sustainable outcome.

We at Grolltex have been working on new ways of transferring graphene and making the process of producing sheets cost-effectively and affordabe for the industries who wish to purchase our materials. This is a new breakthrough for the graphene industry, and Grolltex has patented this process. We have also designed the process so that it is inexpensive compared with other methods of production.

If you’d like to learn more about high-quality graphene sheets from Grolltex, or are interested in purchasing some material, feel free to contact us for more information. Or, you may purchase graphene sheets for sale conveniently online.