Created a new technology to obtain affordable graphene.

Dutch PhD of Chinese origin, Zhu Showen, proposed a new method of obtaining millimeter fragments of graphene, surpassing previously known methods in efficiency. The cost of obtaining such a fragment is about € 1000 (which is already much cheaper than existing processes), while it is planned to reduce it a thousand times over several years.



To obtain graphene in a new way, a mixture of hydrogen, methane and argon is applied to a copper sheet at a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius. As a result of the reaction, the catalyst of which copper is acting, pure carbon remains on the sheet, which crystallizes into structures one atom thick. By applying a perpendicular magnetic field to the obtained graphene, we were able to show that electrons move freely in a fragment of a crystal along circular trajectories without scattering, which proved the purity of the material.



After receiving Novoselov and Geim the Nobel Prize for the discovery of graphene in 2010, many are eagerly awaiting the use of this wonderful material in various industries - from smartphone screens to the space elevator cable. However, although the first samples were obtained by scientists with just a scotch and a pencil, the industrial scale of graphene production is still unattainable. Perhaps it is Comrade Shawen, who in 2011 won the prize in the contest "Mad Youth Idea", will thereby serve as a guide for graphene into the world of universal accessibility. Especially since he himself calls it his dream and goal : “I want to make graphene real and bring it into everyday life, into products accessible to all.”