A 2-D WONDER AND MIRACLE MATERIAL ~ Quimica

A 2-D WONDER AND MIRACLE MATERIAL

- By Saurabh Bhardwaj

- Batch(2k18), Deptt. of Chemical Engg.

- BIT Sindri, Dhanbad

Our existence in this beautiful world has witnessed enormous transitions since we first opened our eyes. Either we think about evolving from a keypad phone to a Qwerty keypad to Touchscreen phone and so on or moving on from a Big CRT to LCD TV and again to LED and android TV and even more, transition has always been a crucial part of our existence.

There are uncountable examples of how things have changed and evolved over past few years that make us to think, "what more will we see in the years to come?" and definitely, "What will our future look like?"

We can have no satisfying answer to these questions but we can seriously believe that there are many wonder materials waiting to be discovered which has the capacity to transform our life to such an extent, which none can ever think of.

One of such material is Graphene, discovered in 2004, by Professor Sir Andre Giem and Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov as they isolated the single layer of carbon for the first time using a scotch tape and Graphite.

Professor-Nobel Prize

Fig: Professor Sir Andre Giem and Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov (Nobel prize winner 2010)

Graphene consists of a single layer of Carbon atoms, arranged in a hexagonal lattice and is till date the thinnest and the hardest known material. It is so thin that we can have at least a million layers of graphene in a single human hair.

Fig: Single Atomic Layer of Graphene

There are few properties on which we shall do a comparative study in order to understand how good Graphene is, as compared to other standard materials used today.

1. Electrical Conductivity: It is believed that the run behind graphene is going to be a gold rush, which can give a new shape to the entire world. Experimental studies have ascertained that graphene can conduct electricity more efficiently and precisely than any other material. It has an unbelievable current density which is around 1,000,000 times greater than copper and therefore it is capable of bringing ground-breaking advancements in existing electrical technologies.

2 Strength: Graphene has now been regarded as the strongest material in the world. This extraordinary strength exists due to strong carbon - carbon covalent carbon bonds and defect free monolayers of graphene. There are experimental evidences that Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel. It is due to this reason that it can give a new dimension to automobile and aerospace industries.

Fig: Strength of Graphene

3. Thinness: Graphene is one among those rare materials which can remain stable with just single layer of atoms. This remarkable property enables it to be used as a coating material as it has virtually no impact on the way two surfaces interacts. Apart from this, it also has a high surface to volume ratio which makes graphene the need of the hour, for use in batteries and supercapacitors which can then store more energy with a greater charging rate.

$Depiction of thickness of Graphene$

Fig: Depiction of thickness of Graphene

4. Thermal conductivity: The thermal conductivity of graphene is in the range 3000 - 5000 W/mK at room temperature, which is highest among the Thermal conductivity of all known materials. We can just think on how large this value is when we compare it with that of copper. The thermal conductivity of copper is around 390 W/mK, which is almost 1/10th of Graphene. Therefore, it is believed that Graphene can absorb almost unlimited amount of heat.

5. Permeability: Contrary to its appearance, studies have shown that defect-free graphene is nearly impermeable. It blocks all liquids and gases and can therefore be used for water desalination. The pores here are so small that even helium (Atom with smallest atomic radius) cannot pass through it.

Fig: Impermeable Graphene Layer

When it comes to its potential uses and applications in our daily life, they are almost countless, some of the important one's being:

1. Flexible, Stretchable, Foldable, Faster and more precise Electronics.

2. Space Elevator.

3. Anti - Corrosion coatings and paints.

4. Efficient and Precise Sensors and Super-fast charging batteries.

5. Making seawater drinkable.

Fig: Graphene application as foldable Electronics and in Space Elevator.

Hence, we can conclude that Graphene has the potential to revolutionize processing, power storage, space exploration and many more things directly and indirectly with limitless applications. Let us all hope that it rises up and shines as a phenomenal material giving us a brighter and better future.