Flexible technology
1 min read
Researchers in South Korea have developed a way of producing large quantities of graphine - a material that is so flexible it can be fixed to any surface and twisted without being damaged.
Graphine consists of one atom thick layers of carbon atoms arranged in hexagons. Previously it has only been possible to source tiny amounts of graphine by using sticky tape to pull them off graphite. But it has not yet been possible to make graphine in larger sheets without losing the high quality of the smaller samples.
Traditionally, it has been possible to evaporate a mixture of large carbon containing molecules and fire it over a heated metal surface. This breaks down the molecules and releases carbon that reorganises itself on the surface of the sheets. But, until now, the film could not be removed from the metal.
Now researchers at Sungkyunwan university in Seoul have discovered a technique to produce films of up to 12 sheets on extremely thin pieces of nickel. The nickel can then be disolved with chemicals and the graphine films can be stuck to a flexible polymer called PET. Tests revealed the films to be so tough that they maintained their electronic properties even when bent and twisted.
This new technique has opened the potential for industrial scale production in any number of applications.
