Graphene, which is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms is strong, flexible and can conduct heat and electricity. It’s been known that graphene could be a replacement for the silicon used in computer chips. It’s also the top candidate for the next generation of wearable, flexible electronics. What may be the most interesting use for graphene is its possible application in displays.
In the past, graphene was painstakingly scraped from graphite (aka pencil lead) by researchers. The procedure was far from cost effective, but paved the way for new techniques. Over the last several years scientists have developed methods to grow sheets several feet across, but growing sheets larger than a few feet introduces impurities which lessen the positive properties of graphene.
Though most of these are possibly a couple of decades in the future, some of the applications graphene is being considered for are:
- Optical Electronics
- Biological Engineering
- Ultrafiltration
- Composite Materials
- Energy Storage
- Photovoltaic Cells
The latest and most positive breakthrough was funded partially by Samsung. Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology have grown graphene on specially treated germanium. The growth is started in several locations on the germanium and then when individual growth areas meet each other, they join, creating one large viable sheet which can be removed easily because of the graphene’s weak attachment to the germanium. The germanium can then be reused for a new grow.
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