Post by williamplayer on Apr 23, 2014 11:17:41 GMT
Graphene Breakthrough could Dramatically Reduce Cost, Increase Production
Researchers at the University of Dublin are claiming a major breakthrough in the manufacturing of graphene that could clear the way for mass industrial production of the material. Graphene has a vast number of potential uses — it’s an incredible conductor of electricity, strong, nearly transparent, and extremely thin — but manufacturing it in volume has proven extremely difficult.
The Irish team’s approach focused on mechanical exfoliation of graphene. Graphene was originally discovered through mechanical exfoliation through the repeated application of scotch tape to layers of graphite (yes, Scotch tape). In this new method, graphite is mixed into stabilizing liquids and fed into a high shear mixer, like the one shown below. The mixer cleaves off graphene sheets of sufficient size and quantity to qualify as industrial production; the team claims that “exfoliation can be achieved in liquid volumes from hundreds of milliliters up to hundreds of liters and beyond.”
High shear mixer
That’s a huge step forward for graphene and could open the field up to applications in composite materials or conductive coatings. Making graphene cheaper will also spur further research into the material, as it lowers the cost of incorporating graphene into modern products.
Semiconductors, however, are still quite far away. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) recently released its new roadmaps (dated 2013, as the work was completed in that year), so I took a look at what the updated graphene predictions look like.
Read Full Article: www.extremetech.com/extreme/180977-graphene-breakthrough-could-dramatically-reduce-cost-increase-production
Researchers at the University of Dublin are claiming a major breakthrough in the manufacturing of graphene that could clear the way for mass industrial production of the material. Graphene has a vast number of potential uses — it’s an incredible conductor of electricity, strong, nearly transparent, and extremely thin — but manufacturing it in volume has proven extremely difficult.
The Irish team’s approach focused on mechanical exfoliation of graphene. Graphene was originally discovered through mechanical exfoliation through the repeated application of scotch tape to layers of graphite (yes, Scotch tape). In this new method, graphite is mixed into stabilizing liquids and fed into a high shear mixer, like the one shown below. The mixer cleaves off graphene sheets of sufficient size and quantity to qualify as industrial production; the team claims that “exfoliation can be achieved in liquid volumes from hundreds of milliliters up to hundreds of liters and beyond.”
High shear mixer
That’s a huge step forward for graphene and could open the field up to applications in composite materials or conductive coatings. Making graphene cheaper will also spur further research into the material, as it lowers the cost of incorporating graphene into modern products.
Semiconductors, however, are still quite far away. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) recently released its new roadmaps (dated 2013, as the work was completed in that year), so I took a look at what the updated graphene predictions look like.
Read Full Article: www.extremetech.com/extreme/180977-graphene-breakthrough-could-dramatically-reduce-cost-increase-production