Graphene – the next big commodity?
In my job I tend to spend a bit of time in traffic. I can’t remember where I was, but I clearly remember first hearing about graphene. It was when I was listening to the raido while driving my car.
This is not graphite, which was discovered in the early 1500’s in the Cumberland Mountains of England, but graphene.
I was interested in graphene as a ‘material’ because the announcer said it was completely ‘new’.
A new substance is interesting, but he said it was not only the thinnest material ever but also the strongest ever.
Then it got a whole lot more interesting when he said graphene conducted electricity better than copper.
As a conductor of heat the radio presenter said graphene outperforms all other known materials.
He also said this material has remarkable mechanical and electronic properties and is set to revolutionise modern technology as we know it.
Graphene is the thinnest electrical material known, comprising just a single atomic layer.
Three million sheets of graphene on top of each other would be one millimetre thick.
The electrons in graphene are faster than in anything else known and are extremely thin.
Image courtesy of Condensed Matter Research Group, University of Manchester
Graphene also has extremely good connectivity, it sounded like graphene could do anything.
So remarkable was the story that I quickly forgot about it.
However, the word graphene is starting to pop up more regularly so I felt I should find out what this graphene really is and what it does.
The Royal Society tells us “Graphene is a single atom thick two dimensional film of carbon atoms, arranged in a ‘chicken wire’ like structure.
“It is very strong, transparent and highly conductive with potential applications from strengthening aircraft wings to making mobile phone touch screens and faster computers.”
It is reported that there are already more than 3,000 research projects dedicated to the research and development of graphene.
Currently there are about 200 companies working with the material simply because the advantages of graphene include strength, weight and electrical properties.
If this material is 200 times stronger than steel and harder than diamonds and conducts electricity – hello – that says opportunity.
It is expected that this material will influence the design of cars, aircraft, and plastics.
Nearly everything that needs to be strong and light will benefit from the ongoing development of graphene.
The new material has 5-6 times lower density and 13 times higher bending rigidity of steel.
It is estimated that 80% of the body weight of a car is steel.
The breakthrough discovery of graphene has the capacity to revolutionise automobile production as future cars and aircraft would be lighter, cheaper to run be ecologically sustainable while generating less pollution.
Although current applications for graphene are in their infancy, the potential applications for the material include the replacement of carbon fibres in composite materials that will eventually lead into the production of lighter aircraft and road transport.
Computer engineers believe next generation computers made using graphene will be faster than their silicon counterparts; it will be the ‘next big thing’ in the world of computing.
Graphene is a flat sheet of carbon atoms and is a promising material for Radio Frequency (RF) transistors.
Typical RF transistors are made from silicon or more expensive semiconductors like indium phosphide.
In graphene, for the same voltage, electrons zip around 10 times faster than in indium phosphide, or 100 times faster than in silicon.
Replacing silicon in transistors and embedding graphene in plastics will enable them to conduct electricity while generating less pollution, run cheaper while being ecologically sustainable.
Graphene is ideally suited to computing as it is a conductor of heat and electricity, the material will be used to develop incredibly strong semiconductors.
It maybe a few years away but in theory you will be able to roll up your iPhone and your credit card will contain as much processing power as your current smart phone.
Maybe consumers will have movies and music streaming into their lives via their credit cards.
The download costs to be deducted from the card as the process happens, ideal for suppliers and consumers.
Governments are hell bent on reducing carbon dioxide emissions and the emphasis today is on renewable energy.
In Australia this includes the ramping-up of solar, the construction and commissioning of wind farms and subsidised work on geothermal technologies among other things.
Existing battery technologies are failing to address the marketplace needs for high-power energy storage.
Commentators continue to point out these technologies are expensive and will not deliver the base load power needed into the future.
It appears graphene could form the basis of the next generation of ultra-fast energy storage systems.
Couple this with the new generation of ultracapacitors and graphene clear batteries the potential is unlimited.
Wind turbines could become more efficient, go super-fast and store more energy with this material!
Solar panel technology will be more efficient, governments will be able to stop worrying about dirty and non-renewable combustion-based forms of energy production.
Graphene will play a great part in our green future.
Graphene could have long term implications for the Australian resource Industry and Australia.
Australia is a leading exporter of iron ore and coal and the economy is heavily reliant on the mining and resource sectors.
Could something like graphene paper lead to lighter stronger more efficient automobiles, aircraft and shipping?
This could lead to a reduction in the demand for Australian exports like coal and iron ore.
Will composite materials using graphene revolutionise industrial design and constructions allowing all surfaces coated in thin layers of graphene to become energy cells, reducing energy costs?
When the weight of a rechargeable family car is reduced to just a few hundred kilos this will have an impact on our resource industries.
We will change the way we live and that change will be driven by innovation, regulation and tax.
With this kind of strength graphene demonstrates, the material will affect the design of airplanes, cars, bridges, roads, tyres, ships, sports equipment, and plastic containers and so on.
Nearly anything that needs to be strong and light will benefit from graphene.
Darryl Ellis
Fortnum Financial Advisers
darryl.ellis@capitalsg.com.au
The full version of this article appeared in the August 2011 issue of 