| Posted: Feb 15, 2017 | |
Graphene from soybeans(Nanowerk News) A breakthrough by CSIRO-led scientists has made the world's strongest material more commercially viable, thanks to the humble soybean. |
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| Graphene is a carbon material that is one atom thick. | |
| Its thin composition and high conductivity means it is used in applications ranging from miniaturised electronics to biomedical devices. | |
| These properties also enable thinner wire connections; providing extensive benefits for computers, solar panels, batteries, sensors and other devices. | |
| Until now, the high cost of graphene production has been the major roadblock in its commercialisation. | |
| Previously, graphene was grown in a highly-controlled environment with explosive compressed gases, requiring long hours of operation at high temperatures and extensive vacuum processing. | |
| CSIRO scientists have developed a novel "GraphAir" technology which eliminates the need for such a highly-controlled environment. | |
| The technology grows graphene film in ambient air with a natural precursor, making its production faster and simpler. | |
| "This ambient-air process for graphene fabrication is fast, simple, safe, potentially scalable, and integration-friendly," CSIRO scientist Dr Zhao Jun Han, co-author of the paper published today in Nature Communications ("Single-step ambient-air synthesis of graphene from renewable precursors as electrochemical genosensor") said. | |
| "Our unique technology is expected to reduce the cost of graphene production and improve the uptake in new applications." | |
| GraphAir transforms soybean oil - a renewable, natural material - into graphene films in a single step. | |
| "Our GraphAir technology results in good and transformable graphene properties, comparable to graphene made by conventional methods," CSIRO scientist and co-author of the study Dr Dong Han Seo said. | |
| With heat, soybean oil breaks down into a range of carbon building units that are essential for the synthesis of graphene. | |
| The team also transformed other types of renewable and even waste oil, such as those leftover from barbecues or cooking, into graphene films. | |
| "We can now recycle waste oils that would have otherwise been discarded and transform them into something useful," Dr Seo said. | |
| The potential applications of graphene include water filtration and purification, renewable energy, sensors, personalised healthcare and medicine, to name a few. | |
| Graphene has excellent electronic, mechanical, thermal and optical properties as well. | |
| Its uses range from improving battery performance in energy devices, to cheaper solar panels. | |
| CSIRO are looking to partner with industry to find new uses for graphene. |
| Source: CSIRO | |
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