Graphene: A Very, Very Brief History
Foreword
I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to conduct these posts. The ultimate goal of them is to educate manufacturers that use polymers about graphene and to get the industry to talk and collaborate while being very approachable. Maybe not approachable enough for my grandma to be able to hold lengthy conversations about flex and tension, d-spacing, and compatible bond energies, but enough to be able to get people interested and thinking about the materials around us while pushing us to do better. All using human words to appeal to humans. I may be an engineer but I’m not a robot.
Setting the Stage
Before we get too far into it, it’s important we define what “graphene” is. Graphene is a single atomic layer of interconnected carbon layers. They form hexagonal shapes that make it incredibly strong and stable. Think of a soccer net and the interconnecting hexagons. When Ronaldo scores what seems like his one-millionth goal, the net flexes, groaning on a molecular level as the bonds between cells threaten to give from the immense force that was suddenly put on them. But when push comes to shove, the ball gives way, the net returns to its natural state, and the celebration continues unabashed. This is what makes graphene so unique: it can bend and writhe from being pushed to its limit but is ultimately 200 times stronger than steel.
Humanity’s Discovery
Graphene was “discovered” in 2004 by Professor Sir Andre Geim and Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov of the University of Manchester using scotch tape. Essentially, they stuck tape to a block of graphite (the same black material that is used in pencils), tiny amounts of graphite flaked off onto the tape, they stuck another piece of tape to the piece that was now coated in graphite, and they kept doing that over and over again. Soon, when it looked like nothing was left on the tape, the tape was dissolved, the now liquid mixture was dried on a silicone plate, and microscopic analysis was carried out. As soon as the machine spun to life, so did the full spectrum of colors that announced the discovery of single-layer carbon. Graphene!
Graphene Today
16 years later, graphene is finally finding its way into the market place in real-world applications. Applications in thermoplastics (the pieces of your $40,000 car that inexplicably breaks) to thermosets (carbon fiber and fiberglass parts that are used in everything from sports equipment, cars, wind blades, and even aircraft). They’re even used in motor oils to increase product life by 150%! All of those materials are known as “polymers,” and for the rest of my days, I will lump them together under that word. Today, Ford currently has 1,000,000 vehicles on the road that have graphene in their vehicles, in their foam roof liners to manage thermal stability and even small non-load bearing parts. But it has been a challenge to get here, one that the industry is only beginning to solve. In order to fully implement graphene and revolutionize polymers, three issues need to be solved: dispersion, education, and price. Pretty common business problems. But how can you accomplish solving all three problems while making an atomic scale product a viable option in most polymer systems? Great question, reader. It’s a doozy, but it’s not unsolvable. And that is what we are going to be talking about for the next two articles.
