GRAPHENE: A WONDER MATERIAL

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

INDEX

SL. No Contents Page No.

1. WHAT IS GRAPHENE? 3

2. MAKING GRAPHENE 9

3. APPLICATIONS 12

4. CHALLENGES 18

REFERENCES 20

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

1. WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

1.1. Carbon Nano-structures

Unique among the elements, carbon can bond to itself to form extremely strong two-

dimensional sheets. Since we live in a three-dimensional world, these sheets can be

rolled and folded into a diverse range of three-dimensional structures, of which the most

famous are the ball-shaped fullerenes and the cylindrical nanotubes. Other shapes are

also possible, such as carbon nanocones and Swiss cheese-like nanoporous carbon.

Graphite, the stuff in a pencil, is formed from carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb

pattern.

These honeycomb layers are stacked one above the other. A single sheet of graphite is

very stable, strong, and flexible. Since a single sheet is so stable by itself, it binds only

weakly to the neighboring sheets. This explains why graphite is used in pencils: as you

write, you rub off tiny flakes of graphite.

Carbon Nano-structures

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

Although the individual flakes are very strong and flexible, the graphite used in a pencil is

weak, since the flakes can easily slide relative to each other. In carbon fibers, the

individual layers of graphite are much larger and form a long, thin winding spiral pattern.

These fibers can be stuck together in an epoxy, forming an extremely strong, light (and

expensive) composite used in aircraft, tennis rackets, racing bicycles, racecar

suspensions, etc. There is another way of arranging the sheets which is even stronger.

Imagine wrapping the honeycomb pattern back on top of itself and joining the edges. You

have formed a tube of graphite, a carbon nanotube.

Not only are carbon nanotubes extremely strong, but they have very interesting electrical

properties. A single graphite sheet is a semimetal, which means that it has properties

intermediate between semiconductors (like the silicon in computer chips, where electrons

have restricted motion) and metals (like the copper used in wires, where electrons can

move freely). When a graphite sheet is rolled into a nanotube, not only do the carbon

atoms have to line up around the circumference of the tube, but the quantum mechanical

wave functions of the electrons must also match up.

Graphene is perhaps the newest of the carbon nano-materials and promise4s to be a

very active field. Already since its isolation in 2004, it has already grabbed the attention

of the engineering community of the world. It promises to rival the carbon nano-tubes with

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

the number of potential applications with number rising from just 130 in 2005 to 3500 in

2012.

1.2. Graphene

1.2.1. Introduction

Graphene, a two-dimensional, single-layer sheet of carbon atoms is the foundation of all

carbon-based systems: the graphite we find in our pencils is simply a stack of grapheme

layers; carbon nano-tubes are made of rolled-up sheets of graphene; and

buckminsterfullerene molecules are nanometer size spheres of wrapped-up graphene.

Graphene has many extraordinary properties. It is about 100 times stronger than steel by

weight, conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency and is nearly transparent.

Researchers have identified the bipolar transistor effect, ballistic transport of charges and

large quantum oscillations in the material.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

Its two-dimensional nature has made graphene—a one-atom-thick crystal with sp2-

carbon honeycomb structure— one of the most attractive materials for next generation

technologies in many fields. It is the basic structural element of all the other allotropes of

carbon, namely graphite, charcoal, Carbon nano-tubes (CNT) and fullerenes. Graphene

has attracted world-wide attention and research interest, owing to its exceptional physical

Graphene: atomic representation

properties, such as high electronic conductivity, good thermal stability, and excellent

mechanical strength. It is remarkably strong for its very low weight (100 times stronger

than steel), conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency and is nearly transparent.

While scientists had theorized about graphene for decades, it was first produced and

isolated by Andre Guim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004 at University of Manchester.

Graphene is very simple as a concept, as it is simply a two dimensional hexagonal lattice

of carbon atoms. However, as simple as the material is, the properties that emerge as a

consequence of this simple structure are phenomenal. Researchers have been able to

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

identify the bipolar transistor effect, ballistic transport of charges and large quantum

oscillations. Because it is virtually two-dimensional, it interacts oddly with light and with

other materials.

1.2.2. Structure

Graphene is a crystalline allotrope of carbon with 2-dimensional properties. Its carbon

atoms are densely packed in a regular atomic-scale chicken wire (hexagonal) pattern.

Each atom has four bonds, one σ bond with each of its three neighbors and one π-bond

that is oriented out of plane. The atoms are about 1.42 A apart.

Graphene's hexagonal lattice can be regarded as two interleaving triangular lattices. This

perspective was successfully used to calculate the band structure for a single graphite

layer using a tight-binding approximation.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

Graphene's stability is due to its tightly packed carbon atoms and a sp2 orbital

hybridization – a combination of orbitals s, px and py that constitute the σ-bond. The final

pz electron makes up the π-bond. The π-bonds hybridize together to form the π-band

and π∗-bands. These bands are 3 responsible for most of graphene's notable electronic

properties, via the half-filled band that permits free-moving electrons.

Graphene can self-repair holes in its sheets, when exposed to molecules containing
Graphene Structure

carbon, such as hydrocarbons. Bombarded with pure carbon atoms, the atoms perfectly

align into hexagons, completely filling the holes.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

2. MAKING GRAPHENE

2.1. Discovery

Fascination with this material stems from its remarkable physical properties and the

potential applications these properties offer for the future. Although scientists knew one

atom thick, two-dimensional crystal graphene existed, no-one had worked out how to

extract it from graphite.

That was until it was isolated in 2004 by two researchers at The University of Manchester,

Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov. This is the story of how that

stunning scientific feat came about and why Andre and Kostya won the Nobel Prize in

Physics for their pioneering work.

2.2. Production Techniques

2.2.1. Exfoliation

As of 2018 exfoliation produced graphene with the lowest number of defects and highest

electron mobility.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

Adhesive tape:

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov initially used adhesive tape to split graphite into

graphene. Achieving single layers typically requires multiple exfoliation steps, each

producing a slice with fewer layers, until only one remains. After exfoliation the flakes are

deposited on a silicon wafer. Crystallites larger than 1 mm and visible to the naked eye

can be obtained.

Electrochemical Synthesis:

Electrochemical synthesis can exfoliate graphene. Varying a pulsed voltage controls

thickness, flake area, number of defects and affects its properties. The process begins by

bathing the graphite in a solvent for intercalation. The process can be tracked by

monitoring the solution’s transparency with an LED and photodiode.

2.2.2. Nanotube Slicing

Graphene can be created by cutting open carbon nanotubes. In one such method multi-

walled carbon nanotubes are cut open in solution by action of potassium permanganate

and sulfuric acid. In another method graphene nano-ribbons were produced by plasma

etching of nanotubes partly embedded in a polymer film.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

2.2.3. Heated Vegetable Oil

Researchers heated soybean oil in a furnace for ≈30 minutes. The heat decomposed the

oil into elemental carbon that deposited on nickel foil as single/few-layer graphene.

2.2.4. Microwave-assisted Oxidation

In 2012, a microwave-assisted, scalable approach was reported to directly synthesize

graphene with different size from graphite in one step. The resulting graphene does not

need any post reduction treatment as it contains very little oxygen. This approach avoids

use of potassium permanganate in the reaction mixture. It was also reported that by

microwave radiation assistance, graphene oxide with or without holes can be synthesized

by controlling microwave time.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3. APPLICATIONS OF GRAPHENE

“Combining all of graphene's amazing properties could create an impact of the scale last

seen with the Industrial Revolution.”

Graphene is a disruptive technology; one that could open up new markets and even

replace existing technologies or materials. It is when graphene is used both to improve

an existing material and in a transformational capacity that its true potential can be

realized.

The vast number of products, processes and industries for which graphene could create

a significant impact all stems from its amazing properties.

No other material has the breadth of superlatives that graphene boasts, making it ideal

for countless applications.

 It is many times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible.

 It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent.

 It is the world's first 2D material and is one million times thinner than the diameter of a

single human hair.

Application areas:

Transport, medicine, electronics, energy, defence, desalination; the range of industries

where graphene research is making an impact is substantial.

And this is only the start. These are only the first steps.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3.1 Biomedical

Graphene's unique properties allow for ground-breaking biomedical applications.

Targeted drug delivery; improved brain penetration; DIY health-testing kits and 'smart'

implants.

3.1.1 Medical science

Graphene based materials including pristine graphene sheets, few-layer graphene flakes,

and graphene oxide offer a variety of unique, versatile and tunable properties that can be

creatively utilized for biomedical applications.

3.1.2 Drug delivery

The lateral dimensions of these two dimensional (2D) materials can be adjusted between

nanometers and millimeters, their thickness can be tuned from single to hundreds of

monolayers, and their flexural rigidity can also be modulated. The flat surface can be

easily functionalized enabling modification of the surface property (from hydrophobicity to

hydrophilicity). This is unprecedented among other nanomaterials, offering enormous

design capabilities as a platform for drug delivery and ultrasensitive biosensors.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3.2 Electronics

Graphene has the potential to create the next-generation of electronics currently limited

to sci-fi. Faster transistors; semiconductors; bendable phones and other electronics.

3.2.1 Graphene electronics

Graphene can be used as a coating to improve current touch screens for phones and

tablets. It can also be used to make the circuitry for our computers, making them incredibly

Bendable Electronics

fast. These are just two examples of how graphene can enhance today's devices.

Graphene can also spark the next-generation of electronics.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3.2.2 Wearable technology

Graphene could see a smart phone which you could wear on your wrist or a tablet you

could roll up like a newspaper. Flexible, wearable electronics take advantage of

graphene's mechanical properties as well as its conductivity. Indium-tin oxide is currently

used for touch screens as it conducts well but it is brittle.

3.3 Composites and Coatings

Graphene is a material with a huge amount of outstanding qualities; strength, flexibility,

lightweight and conductivity.

One of the simplest and most effective ways of harnessing the potential of graphene is to

combine it with existing products - so called composite materials.

The impact of graphene-based composites is set to reverberate throughout countless

industries, enhancing performance and increasing application possibilities.

3.3.1 Rust-free future

By combining graphene with paint, a unique graphene coating is formed which could

signal the end of the deterioration of ships and cars through rust.

Weatherproofing and packaging:

The same technique could also be applied to brick and stone, to weatherproof houses, or

even to food packaging to stop the transfer of water and oxygen molecules which causes

food to go off.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3.3.2 Graphene for sport

Sporting goods are often the first to take up on new materials development which has

already been the case with the successful graphene-enhanced tennis racket from Head.

Graphene-based composites and coatings could be further involved in enhancing sports

equipment in skiing, cycling, and even Formula 1 in the near future.

Graphene Composite Tennis Racket

3.4 Energy

Imagine fully charging a smartphone in seconds, or an electric car in minutes. That's the

power of graphene.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

3.4.1 Graphene in batteries

Graphene could dramatically increase the lifespan of a traditional lithium ion battery,

meaning devices can be charged quicker - and hold more power for longer. Batteries

could be so flexible and light that they could be stitched into clothing. Or into the body.

For soldiers, who carry up to 16lbs of battery at one time, the impact of this could be huge.

3.4.2 Graphene Supercapacitors

Graphene supercapacitors could provide massive amounts of power while using much

less energy than conventional devices. Because they are light, they could also reduce the

weight of cars or planes.

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4. CHALLENGES

Despite the many success and promises of graphene, it is yet to be widely used in

mainstream devices.

One of the big hurdles in this area is producing graphene. There are many methods to

produce graphene, but they each have their problems: those that produce the highest-

quality graphene cannot produce enough, and those that produce lots often give

graphene that is too poor for most applications.

The original isolation method was the now-famous sticky tape method. Here, chunks of

graphite are peeled away using sticky tape, and these are then placed onto a flat surface.

More sticky tape is then pressed onto the chunks and peeled away again, giving thinner

chunks. If this process is repeated, eventually there are flakes that are only a single atom

thick. However, by this time the flakes are very small (only a few microns across) and

they are buried within a crowd of thick flakes. This makes finding and investigating the

flakes difficult. They are, however, of a very high quality and so this graphene is useful

for early stage research. But it cannot make enough for any applications.

A route to large area graphene that has lots of promise is chemical vapour deposition.

Here, metals are heated to 1000°C, and carbon-containing gases like methane are

introduced. The metals break the gases down into carbon atoms, which then arrange onto

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

the metal surface to form graphene. This method produces high quality graphene and

has been scaled up to metre sizes. The downside here is that the graphene is attached

to a metal surface, and efforts to transfer the graphene off have yet to be perfected.

Further, growing graphene in this way on a non-metallic substrate are still in their infancy.

The current research efforts in graphene production are along these lines:

 Can the oxygen on graphene oxide be removed completely, and yield perfect, high-quality

graphene?

 Can liquid exfoliation give bigger sheets, and more routinely give only single layer

graphene?

 Is there a way to transfer graphene perfectly, leaving no contaminants, wrinkles, or

defects?

 Can we find a way to grow perfect graphene on any surface that we want?

Not just this, there are other challenges related to graphene which includes the complex

transportation and handling, lack of standards, high cost production for high quality

graphene, etc.

At this point of time, graphene seems to provide a very rewarding future but that future is,

evidently, a very long time away. Extensive research can, hopefully, lead to a future where

all the wonder applications of graphene can be put to use commercially and publicly.

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 Graphene: A Wonder Material

REFERENCES

1. https://www.graphenea.com/pages

2. https://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3950

3. https://www.graphene-info.com

4. https://www.graphene.manchester.ac.uk/learn

5. https://nano-magazine.com/news/2019/4/13/why-are-there-challenges-with-

graphene-manufacturing

6. https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/feature-graphene-the-not-so-wonder-

material

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene_production_techniques

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