Article 1

 The World's Strongest Material- 200 times stronger than Steel!

Yet Flexible

Conducts Electricity Better than Copper

Graphene compares in significance with the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. We will call Graphene the Graphene Age. Graphene is an allotrope (form) of carbon which consists of a single layer of carbon atomes. They form a hexagonal lattice of 2D material. It is ultra-light but also extremely tough. It is 200 times stronger than steel yet flexible. It is the thinnest material possible and is transparent. It is a better conductor than copper and is a perfect barrier.


The University of Manchester is working with Graphene in the following applications:


Energy

Membranes

Composites and Coatings

Biomedical

Sensors

Electronics

Wearable Technology

Unbrakeable Mobiles


Indium-tin oxide is the material used for touch screens now, but it is brittle. Graphene's flexibility and durability together with its conductivity properties will transform everyday devices. You could wear your smartphone on your wrist. Your tablet could be so thin and flexible, you could roll it up and put it in your top pocket. You'd never have to worry about braking your phone again. It would be virtually indestructible.


Graphene in Batteries


Samsung have developed graphene batteries that can now charge mobile phones and car batteries faster. Much faster! With a conventional lithium battery, it takes about an hour to recharge a mobile. The new graphene battery could recharge it in 12 minutes. That is a 5 times faster.


Samsung also wants to improve electric car batteries. Imagine fully charging your electric car in only one hour. To do this, scientists at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology have synthesised graphene into a 3D form - using silicon dioxide. This 3D form (known as a graphene ball) is used to coat the electrodes of the battery. The result is a massive 45% increase in capacity, and has, as said earlier, 5 times the charging speed.


It's difficult to get energy in and out of traditional batteries quickly. For example, if you take an Electric Ferrari, you can't get from 0-60 in 3 seconds? Because graphene is such a good conductor, super capacity batteries could release the kick of energy needed to hit that 0-60 in 3 seconds.


Energy Storage


The 45% capacity increase has other uses. The University of Manchester is testing graphene battery storage with wind and solar power for the national grid.


Graphene Filtration


Graphene oxide membranes are able to form a perfect barrier for liquids and gasses. They can separate organic solvent from water and remove water from a gas mixture. They can even stop helium, the hardest gas to block. Manchester University are currently testing grahene membrane's for water filtration, gas separation and desalination.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Article 3

 Since long India's energy portfolio has been dominated by fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil), which have had availability problems. Rapid economic growth only exacerbated this. Supply continues to struggle to keep pace with demand because of productivity problems, logistics, a lack of accessible reserves, and environmental concerns. Regulatory controls over prices, production , and allocation of fuel are also leaving a mark on the energy sector, distorting market mechanisms and dissuading significant progress. Almost half of India's energy consumption is subsidized-including power, transportation, and process heat requirements. This includes subsidies for liquefied petroleum ga s (LPG) and diesel, piped natural gas and compressed natural gas that are subsidized by the administered price mechanism (APM), and the cross subsidization of agricultural and domestic power segments by industrial and commercial segments. In such a scenario it comes as no surprise that the government is...
Read more

Article 2

 We are now in the early stages of an energy revolution that is profound and rapid as the one that ushered in the age of oil in the 21st century. This new energy system - highly decentralized, efficient, and based increasingly on renewable resources and hydrogen fuel- is already beginning to emerge in other parts of the world. Without visionary leadership, there can be a risk falling behind its economic competitors and compromising its political credibility on the international stage which will be judged by the extent to which it embodies the following principles of a 21st century energy system: 1. Energy Efficiency: investments in energy efficiency-obtaining the same services of lighting, cooking, heating, mobility, and industry will lower energy requirement. 2. Natural Gas: Natural Gas is the cleanest and fastest-growing fossil fuel, and despite the recent increase in price, has become the fuel choice for power generation. But the challenge with natural gas is not to drill for i...
Read more