“Our process produces high-quality graphene at low cost, taking us one step closer to creating affordable new electronic devices with a wide range of applications, from the smart cities of the future to mobile healthcare.”Ravinder Dahiya, University of Glasgow
Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material ever since it was first isolated from graphite in 2004. Just a single atom thick, graphene is flexible, stronger than steel, and capable of efficiently conducting heat and electricity.
Widespread industrial adoption of graphene, however, has so far been limited by the expense of producing it. Affordable graphene production could lead to a wide range of new technologies reaching the market, including synthetic skin capable of providing sensory feedback to people with limb prostheses.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in the UK have now found a way to produce large sheets of graphene using the same cheap type of copper used to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries found in many household devices. In a paper published in Scientific Reports, a team led by Ravinder Dahiya from the University of Glasgow’s School of Engineering explain how they have been able to produce large-area graphene around 100 times cheaper than ever before.
Graphene is often produced by a process known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which turns gaseous reactants into a film of graphene on a special surface known as a substrate. The research team used a similar process to create high-quality graphene across the surface of commercially-available copper foils of the type often used as the negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The ultra-smooth surface of the copper provided an excellent bed for the graphene to form upon.
“The commercially-available copper we used in our process retails for around one dollar per square meter, compared to around $115 for a similar amount of the copper currently used in graphene production,” explained Dahiya. “This more expensive form of copper often required preparation before it can be used, adding further to the cost of the process.”
As well as being cheaper, the new process also produced better quality graphene. Transistors made from graphene produced by the new process showed a stark improvement in electrical and optical performance compared with transistors made from graphene produced by the older process.
“Our process produces high-quality graphene at low cost, taking us one step closer to creating affordable new electronic devices with a wide range of applications, from the smart cities of the future to mobile healthcare,” said Dahiya.
“Much of my own research is in the field of synthetic skin. Graphene could help provide an ultraflexible, conductive surface which could provide people with prosthetics capable of providing sensation in a way that is impossible for even the most advanced prosthetics today. It’s a very exciting discovery and we’re keen to continue our research.”
The research was conducted by the University of Glasgow in partnership with colleagues at Bilkent University in Turkey.
This story is adapted from material from the University of Glasgow, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier. Link to original source.