Green method: 1 hour and preparation of single-layer graphene

Graphene, hot material in the scientific community, the industry is new bestow favor on, but there has been no industrial preparation method of quick and high safety. Professor in the department of zhejiang university high polymer superb team, to avoid the drawbacks of existing methods, preparation of single-layer graphene found a "green" route, process fast, low cost, no pollution, is suitable for large-scale preparation of industrialization.

January 21, relevant academic papers "Aniron - basedgreenapproachto1 - hproductionofsingle - layergrapheneoxide" published in the journal nature ZiKan NatureCommunications (nature communications) journal. Magazine reviewers thought, this method breaks through the traditional graphite oxide (ene) preparation methods, the further application of graphene in the future is of great significance.

Looking for graphite thinning of the party

Graphene is a thin sheet of carbon atoms that form a hexagonal ring that connects them to form a honeycombed plane. Together, 200,000 sheets of graphene are the size of a human hair. Until now, the two-dimensional form of carbon had been a matter of conjecture. The key problem is how to stratify graphite into very thin sheets.

In 2004, at the University of Manchester, England, and carbon, repeatedly with cellophane tape will be a piece of graphite paste and tear, the thickness of the graphite flake gradually decreases, and eventually formed the thickness is only 0.335 nm graphene. This is the first time in the world get monolayer graphene, two scientists won the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. Evolved at present, the adhesive tape paper paste method of mechanical stripping method, a method of preparation of graphene has become a laboratory, however, the limitations of this method it is obvious that the products of a mixture of different layers of graphene, large scale preparation of single-layer graphene.

Scientists found another road, REDOX process, first the oxidation of graphite oxide into "layers of segmentation" graphene sheets, again through the reduction reaction, graphene. Is the world's most famous Brodie method (1859), Staudenmaier method (1898) and Hummers method (1958), are named after the name of the scientist. However, these methods or explosive risks, either will produce heavy metal pollution or toxic gases, at the same time the preparation time for at least 10 hours, have to be very careful in the process of preparation. The most common Hummers method, for example, it is the use of potassium permanganate as oxidant, the production process of manganese ions can cause heavy metal pollution, and manganese oxide intermediates is also easy to explode.

The new method can be used in mass production

Superb professor team after years of exploration, found a new, cheap, non-toxic iron series antioxidant, replaced the use more than half a century of manganese chloride, oxidant." We found that the iron antioxidant molecules' running fast, can be like a wedge, the rapid penetration into graphite, graphite layers soon. This process will produce oxygen, and the gas will help 'top layers of graphite, make preparation of speed. "High said that this approach is "green" : no explosion hazard, does not produce harmful substances, friendly to environment. At the same time, the production of the experimental data show that this method for single layer graphene oxide, just can be completed within an hour, is expected to large-scale application in industry.

Superb showed a reporter a similar to brown powder, coffee powder, this way is to use "green" preparation of monolayer graphene oxide. According to introducing, this material was prepared in aqueous solution, can be dry reduction into graphene powder, the production materials, and the "instant" in the solvent. Excellent explanation, this feature can make graphene convenient for storage and transportation of materials.

Wonderful world of graphene

"Raw materials, materials, devices," is to consider the three important problems of the application of graphene, superb, said before the team has made various forms of macroscopic graphene materials and super capacitor, the lithium battery devices, such as "how can we further consideration, at the level of raw material to resolve the existing problems, to promote the scale of single-layer graphene, low-cost preparation and practical application."

In advanced laboratory of professor, large and small bottle filled with macro forms of graphene materials. With twisted on the cylinder of graphene fiber, high strength, high Gao Ren, guide fiber, laboratory of graphene knot figure selected Nature 2011 picture of the year; With the "floating" on the asparagus slender leaves not fall elasticity of graphene aerogels, is the creator of the world the lightest solid material record in 2013; And continuous graphene films like film, "spinning" 10 meters per minute, it will be the future mobile thermal film, super capacitor, aircraft deicing ideal material.

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