Super-thin carbon sheets poised to revolutionize electronics

March 2, 2009

Super-thin films of carbon with exotic properties, now taking the scientific world by storm, may soon mean a new era of brighter, faster, and smaller computers, smart phones, and other consumer electronics. Brighter digital displays that flex like a sheet of paper. Faster computer chips. Smaller computers.

That's the word from an article scheduled for the March 2 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly news magazine.

In the magazine's cover story, C&EN Senior Editor Mitch Jacoby notes that these so-called graphene sheets —50,000 times thinner than the width a single human hair — were first isolated by researchers just a few years ago. The nano-size sheets perform better than life-size carbon, with higher strength and the ability to conduct electricity faster. These properties make them attractive for developing new and improved electronic devices, the article notes.

Scientists in academia and industry have stepped up their efforts to improve the performance and manufacture of graphene sheets. At least one company plans to produce the sheets on an industrial scale in ton quantities. Scientists had predicted the existence of these unusual carbon sheets just a few years ago but had not produced actual thin-films until recently. "Graphene is one of the hottest topics in materials science these days," says one authority in the C&EN article.

More information: "Graphene: carbon thin as can be," http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/87/8709cover.html

Provided by ACS

Rate this story - 3.4 /5 (7 votes)

rank
1
2
3
4
5

view popular

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.

Display comments: newest first

Going - Mar 02, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
"so-called graphene sheets,450,000 times thinner than the width a single human hair, were first isolated by researchers just a few years ago." Isolated! Are they wild biological organisms that needed to be captured or something. They were invented, or if they occur naturally they were discovered . they were not "isolated".
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
Birger - Mar 02, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
Although graphene research has a lot of potential, this article does not provide much new information.
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
BrianH - Mar 04, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
Birger, click the more info link. That article will fill you to overflowing!
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5

Other News

Scientists create world's first molecular transistor

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Dec 23, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (24) | 1

A group of scientists has succeeded in creating the first transistor made from a single molecule. The team, which includes researchers from Yale University and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology ...

An easy way to see the world's thinnest material

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Dec 23, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (10) | 1

It's been used to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day. It's been used to find latent blood stains at crime scenes. And now researchers at Northwestern University have used it to examine the thinnest material ...

Faster, cheaper DNA sequencing method developed

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 20, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (25) | 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Boston University biomedical engineers have devised a method for making future genome sequencing faster and cheaper by dramatically reducing the amount of DNA required, thus eliminating the ...

Hot Electrons Could Double Solar Cell Power Efficiency

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Dec 18, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (15) | 2

Scientists have experimentally verified a theory suggesting that hot electrons could double the output of solar cells. The researchers, from Boston College, have built solar cells that successfully use hot ...

Light-Driven Nanorod Could Roll on Water

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Dec 18, 2009 | 4 / 5 (9) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study, researchers have examined the possibility of rolling a nanorod on the surface of water. On the macroscale, perhaps the closest analogy might be the sport of logrolling, ...