Move Over Adamantium: the Rise of Graphene a Newly Found Form of Carbon May Change the Study of Nanostructures and Your Ipod
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TECHNOLOGY Move over adamantium: The rise of graphene A newly found form of carbon may change the study of nanostructures and your iPod. there, but had no way of studying it. The reason it was impossible to study is that grapheme is small, tiny even. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like chicken wire or a honeycomb in which each cell has six sides. Being so thin and flat is one of the reasons graphene is so unique. So thin is graphene, that when awarding the Nobel Prize, the academy called it "two-dimensional." In an article for Nature written by Geim and is real. The 2010 Nobel traits. Carbon has more Novoselov themselves, William Noell Prize in Physics was allotropes than any other they address just how recently awarded to two element, including two many layers of such a Wolverine's skeleton is Russian-born British sci- with which most people thin sheet it would take to covered in adamantium. entists, Andre Geim and are familiar: diamonds be considered 3D. Their Captain America's shield Konstantin Novoselov, and graphite. Diamonds experiments showed that is made of vibranium. for their work in demon- and graphite are both graphene can be consid- Very soon, super heroes strating the properties and made of the exact same ered three-dimensional at will be using another potential of this carbon element, only structured 10 layers. Any structure substance when creating allotrope. differently. One gives over 10 layers would indestructible tools and An allotrope is sparkle, the other dull have to be considered suits of armor. They'll a pure, but structurally gray. Graphene is an graphite. be using graphene. What unique form of an ele- allotrope that has only In order to iso- makes graphene bet- ment that both retains recently been discovered. late graphene for study, ter than adamantium or that element's essential Scientists recently pre- scientists had been using vibranium? Graphene properties and has unique dicted that it would be all of the most high tech 24 l NewScientist l 16 October 2010 For daily technology stories, visit www.NewScientist.com/technology 200 times stronger than be able to be used in structural steel,” and the fabrication of much “would take an elephant, smaller transistors than balanced on a pencil, to silicon. Even better, the break through a sheet of conductivity as measured graphene the thickness by a report published in of Saran™ Wrap.” The International Journal The study of Carbon, shows graphene graphene is not just to have "the largest ever important because of reported value for a semi- the way it was isolated conductor or a semimet- using what is called the al," making it a promising exfoliation method, but actor in the post-silicon because graphene has era." These electronic Doctors Andre Geim (left) and Konstantin Novoselov so many potential uses. wonders may be excit- Perez and Ribeiro cite ing, but for them you will equipment they knew and were able to isolate "radiofrequency devices, have to wait. Geim and all of the most advanced graphene. Doctors N M R non-volatile memories, Novoselov don't believe practices they knew. Perez and Ricardo Ri- transparent electrodes that graphene research Finally, as with other beiro, in the New Journal in solar cells and liq- will be ready or that mass great advances in science, of Physics, call the pro- uid crystal displays" production of it will be graphene was found by cess of original isolation as products for which practical or cost-efficient accident. In order to break of graphene "simultane- graphene is already being enough for those advanc- the graphite down into ously surprising researched. Liquid crys- es for another 20 years. a small enough slice so and ingeniously simple tal displays are a good A little over 70 as to be called graphene, on the surface." example of how graphene years ago, according to Geim and Novoselov What they found could change many of Geim and Novosalev, had been making quite a was a highly conductive, the products you already researchers Landau and mess. It was impossible trans- Peierls to cut graphite that thinly. parent The two had one of those “serendipitous argued Geim and Novoselov allotrope eureka moments” of science. that were using Scotch® tape of carbon "strictly to clean the graphite from that just - Miles O’Brien 2D crys- which they were trying to happens own. Imagine dropping tals were thermodynami- extract graphene. Then, to be the strongest (mea- your flat-screen television cally unstable and could as Miles O’Brien, science sured) material on earth. or your mp3 player and not exist." Although journalist, describes it, Just how strong is “stron- not having to worry about Landau and Peirels were the two had one of those gest?” Research scientists the screen breaking. This incorrect, the practical “serendipitous eureka at Columbia University’s is the potential graphene. uses of graphene are still moments” of science. Fu Foundation School of As electronics years away. That such They decided to take a Engineering and Applied continue to shrink in a material does exist, look at the tape they had Science decided to mea- size, silicon transistors however, opens the door thrown away. sure just that. Using a have been finding limita- for a new generation of By using adhesive very small piece of an al- tions on just how small electronics and building tape to peel off layer by ready small material, they they can be. Because of materials about which miniscule later of graph- were able to determine the simplistic structure many articles will fill this ite, Geim and Novoselov that graphene is “some of graphene, it should magazine. 25 l NewScientist l 16 October 2010.