graphene

Graphene is a material composed of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern. Graphene can be described as a one-atom thick layer of the mineral graphite, (many layers of graphene stacked together effectively form crystalline flake graphite). Amongst its other well-publicised superlative properties, it is very light, with a 1-square-meter sheet weighing only 0.77 milligrams.

For more information about graphene check the Wikipedia article here

ZME Science posts about graphene

Graphene aerogel takes lightest material crown – could be used to clean up oil spills

Tue, Mar 26, 2013

0 Comments

Aerogels are fantastic materials – typically, they are synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. They are ultra-light, and have numerous practical applications – most notable as insulators, but also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, in biology and chemistry [...]

Flash memory chip built from atom-thick components

Wed, Mar 20, 2013

0 Comments

If you still don’t know what graphene is, you’d better learn pretty soon – because it’s the stuff of the future. Graphene is a substance composed of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern similar to graphite, but in a one-atom thick sheet. Ok, so what’s so special about it? Well, due [...]

Researchers create first graphene ear buds – yes, they’re awesome

Thu, Mar 14, 2013

0 Comments

A few months ago, we were telling you about the mind boggling properties the new material called graphene has, and how practical uses will not take long to follow. Apparently, things moved even faster than we expected them – Berkeley researchers have created the first ever graphene audio speaker: an earphone. Their quality, even in [...]

Graphene can multiply light, demonstrating new immense energy potential

Mon, Feb 25, 2013

1 Comment

We’ve never shun away from praising the almost miraculous properties of graphene, the wonder material set to become even more paradigm shifting than plastic. Graphene has found been found to have the potential to revolutionize a myriad of scientific fields, from genetics, to electronics, to nanotech, to security, to just about anything you could think of. The energy [...]

Graphene thickness now easily identifiable

Tue, Nov 20, 2012

0 Comments

We’ve all been hearing about the miracles that carbon nanostructures will provide us in the near future for several years now. One of the first steps to making its application commercially viable is making it easy to use and manufacture. Researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai and Southeast University have made identifying the [...]

First all-carbon solar cell promises to lower industry cost

Fri, Nov 2, 2012

1 Comment

Scientists at Stanford University have successfully devised the world’s first solar cell made entirely out of carbon. This alternative to typical silicon solar panels is not only a lot cheaper to produce, but also a lot less simpler to use. Such carbon cells can be coated on any surface and turn it into a solar [...]

Cheap DNA sequencing is a step closer with graphene nanopores

Thu, Oct 4, 2012

0 Comments

Graphene is the strongest material ever discovered by man, and naturally its applications has been extended to a variety of fields – most recently genetics.  University of Texas at Dallas scientists have used advanced manipulation techniques to shrink a sheet of graphene to the point that it’s small enough to read DNA. This successful attempt now opens [...]

Incredible molecular imaging shows individual chemical bonds for first time

Sat, Sep 15, 2012

1 Comment

Atomic level imaging has come a long way in the past decade, and after scientists first managed to image molecular structure and even electron clouds, now a group of researchers at IBM Research Center Zurich have visually depicted how chemical bonds differentiate in individual molecules using a technique called non-contact atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the image below [...]

Graphene layered in 3D crystal structure might allow for electronics revolution

Mon, Jul 30, 2012

0 Comments

It seems scientists have yet to draw the line on where graphene, man’s greatest material ever discovered, ceases to amazes with its new abilities, since apparently new properties and uses for the carbon allotrope are found constantly. Most of the contributions come from University of Manchester, where the material has been recognized for its true history-shaping [...]

Graphene sheets can repair themselves naturally

Thu, Jul 12, 2012

0 Comments

Graphene is one of the most phenomenal materials discovered in science. It’s so thin, it can be molded into sheets just 1 atom thick, yet despite this, it’s so strong that you can actually pick it up. It has the highest current density (a million times that of copper) at room temperature, the highest intrinsic mobility [...]

Scientists manage to derive semiconductor from graphene – huge implications for electronics industry

Wed, Apr 18, 2012

0 Comments

Graphene has been countless times hailed as the material at the forefront of the coming technological leaps ahead in the future, thanks to its extraordinary properties and countless applications. Electronics is where graphene shines the most, though, and now scientists at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have managed to synthesize a semiconductor variant of graphene which might lead [...]

Graphene allows nano-engineering control for the first time

Mon, Mar 19, 2012

0 Comments

The amazing properties of graphene are being put to use more and more, as Evan Reed and Mitchell Ong from the Stanford School of Engineering have described a new way of engineering piezoelectrics into graphene. The study was published in the ACS Nano Journal. When you apply a mechanical stress to certain materials, such as [...]

Iridescence and superhydrophobicity combined on graphene

Sat, Jan 21, 2012

0 Comments

Graphene is starting to show its really interesting and exciting properties; recently, scientists have managed to put together two separate properties which usually don’t go together: it is iridescent like a butterfly’s wing, and superhydrophobic, like a rose petal or this material. The engineered surface could have applications in liquid transportation and analysis, or due [...]

Graphene foam detects explosives, emissions better than today’s gas sensors

Thu, Nov 24, 2011

0 Comments

Remember this name: graphene. This wonder material is certainly on a lot of scientists’ lips these days, but in a few years from now, it will be on the lips of more and more people, as its fantastic properties will begin to be put to practical use. Graphene is a planar sheet of Carbon, just [...]

Graphene closer to replacing chips thanks to ‘big mac’ structure

Mon, Oct 10, 2011

0 Comments

I was recently telling you about graphene, the wonder material that promises to bring significant technological advancements – and the promise is almost delivered. A team of researchers from Manchester have developed a sandwich-like architecture that is one step closer to replacing silicone. Graphene is, in (extremely) light terms, a one atom thick planar sheet [...]

“Super sand” is five times more purifying than regular one. Turns toxic water into drinkable water

Fri, Jun 24, 2011

0 Comments

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s super sand! *tadam Researchers from Rice University have managed to develop a new kind of filtering sand, dubbed “super sand”, which has the five times the filtering properties of regular sand. The advancement could provide an indispensable, cost-effective solution for the current water crisis in developing countries [...]

Defect in graphene opens up even more possibilities

Thu, May 26, 2011

0 Comments

Graphene is probably the ‘substance of the century’, and it will probably be for us what plastics were in the 1900s. Now, a flower-like defect in the material that can occur during the fabrication process could have a significant effect on graphene’s already impressive mechanical, magnetic, and electrical properties. Amazing graphene Graphene is practically a [...]

New spin makes graphene magnetic

Sat, Apr 16, 2011

0 Comments

I was telling you a while ago about the revolutionary material called graphene. Graphene is a one atom thick layer of carbon packed in a honeycomb lattice. Now, a team led by Professor Andre Geim, recipient of the Nobel Prize for graphene, showed that electric current (which is basically a flow of electrons) can magnetise [...]

Water droplet bouncing on a Superhydrophobic Carbon nanotube array

Fri, Oct 15, 2010

0 Comments

This is the best video I’ve seen in quite a while ! Don’t let the fancy title fool you, the video explains what’s happening so it’s really easy to understand what’s happening.

Subscribe for FREE!

Popular This Week

Drop us a line!

Tip us on news, scientific reports and studies, scientific advances, science art, interesting phenomena or any kind of science related material. Just write to andrei@zmescience.com.