Graphene

[TylerDurden]

...
But when done right it will help make batteries better and in a controller It will help mosfets or what ever the next gen of power switches will be called to be smaller cheaper and conduct electricity and heat better making controller TECH skyrocket!

Indeed:

High-performance, low-cost ultracapacitors built with graphene and carbon nanotubes
Apr 22, 2014

By combining the powers of two single-atom-thick carbon structures, researchers at the George Washington University's Micro-propulsion and Nanotechnology Laboratory have created a new ultracapacitor that is both high performance and low cost.

The device, described in the Journal of Applied Physics, capitalizes on the synergy brought by mixing graphene flakes with single-walled carbon nanotubes, two carbon nanostructures with complementary properties.

Ultracapacitors are souped-up energy storage devices that hold high amounts of energy and can also quickly release that energy in a surge of power. By combining the high energy-density properties of batteries with the high power-density properties of conventional capacitors, ultracapacitors can boost the performance of electric vehicles, handheld electronics, audio systems and more.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene both have unique and excellent electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties that make them attractive materials for designing new ultracapacitors, said Jian Li, first author on the paper. Many groups had explored the use of the two materials separately, but few had looked at combining them, he said.

"In our lab we developed an approach by which we can obtain both single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene, so we came up with the idea to take advantage of the two promising carbon nanomaterials together," added Michael Keidar, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at GW, and director of the Micro-propulsion and Nanotechnology Laboratory.

The researchers synthesized the graphene flakes and nanotubes by vaporizing a hollow graphite rod filled with metallic catalyst powder with an electric arc. They then mixed the two nanostructures together to form an ink that they rolled onto paper, a common separator for current commercial capacitors.

The combination device's specific capacitance, a measurement of the performance of a capacitor per unit of weight, was three times higher than the specific capacitance of a device made from carbon nanotubes alone.

The advantage of the hybrid structure, Li explained, is that the graphene flakes provide high surface area and good in-plane conductivity, while the carbon nanotubes connect all of the structures to form a uniform network.

While other types of ultracapacitors have also achieved the high specific capacitance of the graphene/nanotube hybrid, the researchers say, the main advantage of the combination approach is its low costs, since the team has developed a simple way to manufacture large amounts of the desirable mix of carbon nanostructures.

The hybrid ultracapacitor is also small and light, an advantage as electronic devices get ever smaller.



http://phys.org/news/2014-04-high-performance-low-cost-ultracapacitors-built-graphene.html

 

[arkmundi]

Alright, here's a worthwhile watch on what's possible besides super-duper condoms. The space elevator is an idea some have not relinquished... http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nerdwatch/space-elevator-closer-liftoff-new-cable-n88431
Carbon nanotubes are nothing but graphene spun into a cylinder. Also, an elongated buckyball. Now they are producing threads several meters long. That may not seem like much, but it is a major advancement in the tech producing this amazing stuff. Thanks to the team RiceU. At this pace, we'll see carbon nanotubes a mile long. Amazing stuff.

 

[cal3thousand]

....
Condoms are 98 per cent effective if used correctly. Assuming the woman and man are fertile all of the time and no other protection is used that means she has a one in 50 chance to become pregnant while wearing a condom. ....

Only if you presume that all condom wearing activities are vaginal in nature :wink:

 

[LockH]

Graphene rears its ugly head again:
http://www.livescience.com/45216-graphene-weak-link-discovered.html

... seems using the stuff, some may actually really be treading on glass.

"It's very sensitive to [the] presence of [a] crack. In steel if you have a crack, there, it's not so dangerous. Steel has a huge resistance to crack extension. Graphene is more like window glass," said Ting Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and one of the authors of the study.

 

[arkmundi]

Graphene rears its ugly head again:
http://www.livescience.com/45216-graphene-weak-link-discovered.html

... seems using the stuff, some may actually really be treading on glass.

"It's very sensitive to [the] presence of [a] crack. In steel if you have a crack, there, it's not so dangerous. Steel has a huge resistance to crack extension. Graphene is more like window glass," said Ting Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and one of the authors of the study.

Yea, great stuff for a condom, breaking glass, ouch!

 

[trav]

Actually, there is a lithium sulphur graphene battery that seems to be offering some pretty promising results in terms of the range of electric cars. Experimentally, it has been shown to have > 500 watt-hour/kg and maintained > 300 watt-hour/kg after 1000 charge cycles. This sort of battery could potentially offer a 300 mile range.

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/20/graphene-boosts-ev-battery-range-to-magic-300-mile-number/

 

[Arlo1]

> 300 watt-hour/kg after 1000 charge cycles. This sort of battery could potentially offer a 300 mile range.

Any time some one says this tech an give you x amount of range I want to punch a bunny. If you want more range you can add more batteries or make the vehicle more efficient or any combination of the two. IE a leaf can easily have 48kwh of battery and go almost 2x as far or 72 kwh of batteries and go almost 3x as far. Its dumb to say you need a certain energy density to travel so far on a charge. Although it does play a factor its more of a non issue. The real reason the leaf is only 24kwh is to help keep the price down for the whole car.

 

[Punx0r]

[

The point being, graphene is currently one big open source lab experiment. Crowd sourcing. Mr. Physics is hoping you'll make some big breakthrough so he won't have to. Come to think of it, I'm hoping that too. Maybe everyone here is hoping that.

I think you're right! It's like everyone is thinking "this is has to be a wonder material, it will surely change our lives. Someone, somewhere please find a practical use for it!"

 

[TheBeastie]

This site has a nice tag for graphene articles
http://www.extremetech.com/tag/graphene
It seems to be that lots of labs around the world for the last 10 years or so have been giving their thumbs up to graphene but no ones got any commercial products based on it. This tells me to not hold any expectations soon. If it was easy to make anything useful at all with it (no matter what the cost) we would at least see graphene batteries/gear for very expensive areas like satellites and gold plated Tesla with graphene cells for Bill Gates, but no, theres absolutely nothing out there.

Samsung claimed 3 days after April 1st fools day that they have had a breakthrough for commercialization of graphene but I was surprised to see them talk about it more for flexible displays then anything else.
http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=35576

 

[LockH]

Lots of grapheme in the news recently (maybe NOT condom-related). But EG "Novel supercapacitor ups battery life of EVs, portables" from CA via India:
http://www.eetindia.co.in/ART_8800698493_1800008_NT_707c1e2f.HTM

"The researchers found that supercapacitors, an energy storage device such as batteries and fuel cells, based on transition metal oxide modified nanocarbon graphene foam electrode could work safely in aqueous electrolyte and deliver two times more energy and power compared to supercapacitors presently available in the market. "

 

[LockH]

Seems apropos, but on the site "Instructables" , "Make a Graphene Supercapacitor" (`cause I know some folks on Alt. Reality Planet of ES may like to roll their own):
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Graphene-Supercapacitor/

(Sorry `bout the French.)

(Referring to their language.)

 

[arkmundi]

Lots of grapheme in the news recently (maybe NOT condom-related)....

No, that was the point, that graphene is an amazing industrial material that the genus types are only just beginning to explore in terms of both its potential uses and manufacturing. So yea, super capacitors I can relate to, condoms not so much. And is there really the possibility that it can be put in the hands of the ordinary ES lad/ess ... the material, not the condom? That'd be especially cool! Sorry, not meaning a hand-job. Geesh, there I go, blowing it again. Arrrgh, not blowing IT, but... you know what I mean.

 

[LockH]

"put in the hands of the ordinary ES..."

Correction. EXTRAordinary.

Per that page:
"graphite electrode and a platinum electrode into a solution of inorganic salts (ammonium sulfate works best, they say) with a 10V supply (graphite = anode, platinum = cathode) causes the graphite to be torn apart by electrochemical activity to become graphene."

Graphite? See common batteries. And platinum? Ask to borrow that piece of Grandmas jewelry? Steal some of that white granular plant food from Grandpa re ammonium sulfate.

 

[Kingfish]

In the news on Reuters today...

Large scale graphene production starts in the kitchen

Had to laugh every time they used that blender! :lol:

~KF

 

[cal3thousand]

I'm going to convert a Jamba Juice over to Graphene production!

 

[Giovanni LiCalsi]

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Labs in California have further modified these cells using graphene oxide – a treated version of the very thin carbon layers whose discoverers at the University of Manchester won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2010. The Lawrence Berkeley scientists figured out what was causing the deterioration (complex sulphur chemistry) and then used a graphene-based sandwich to stop it happening. And for good measure they also changed the electrolyte and made several other alterations to the cathode.
The result: a battery that can store more than twice the Wh/kg of a Li ion battery, and has already shown that it can do 1,500 charge cycles without deterioration – probably more.
This development is one of many that show the unique ability of graphene to revolutionise some well-known device applications. It is also a product of the last two decades of emphasis on applying nanotechnology to electronics problems. We can expect a steady stream of such developments over the next few years.

 

[TheBeastie]

When I started reading this article of thought it would be boring but it shows how deeply invested some companies around the world are with Graphene.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, which did some probing into patents and graphene research groups, Apple, Samsung, and Google are in a “race” to acquire the patents and other intellectual property that will allow for the use of the material in mobile devices and wearables. With the global mobile market expected to reach $847 billion by 2016, there’s an awful lot of money at stake — and so far, it seems Samsung is winning.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/182657-the-next-apple-samsung-battle-will-be-fought-over-graphene-not-in-the-courtroom

Source Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-15/samsung-apple-smartphone-battleground-is-single-atom-thick-tech.html

 

[liveforphysics]

....to acquire the patents and other intellectual property that will allow for the use of the material in mobile devices and wearables.

How tragic some people live in such delusions. Patents enable nothing but non-contributing parasitic harms.

Things do not work because they have a patent. Things just get f*cked because people choose to live in delusion and play the game that you can only lose for playing, unless you're a parasite (lawyer).

 

[LockH]

Just posting link to thread w/same subject title:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58684

 

[TheBeastie]

http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/22587
Riverside have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium oxide anchored nanocarbon graphene foam architecture that improves the performance of supercapacitors, a development that could mean faster acceleration in electric vehicles and longer battery life in portable electronics.
The researchers found that supercapacitors, an energy storage device like batteries and fuel cells, based on transition metal oxide modified nanocarbon graphene foam electrode could work safely in aqueous electrolyte and deliver two times more energy and power compared to supercapacitors commercially available today.

 

[TheBeastie]

Came across another one today, my eye has slowly being more trained to pick up new graphene news releases lately, but I am wondering if truly breakthrough news is coming more frequently or its just me.
This one sounds similar to Samsungs big claim on April the 3rd, I guess its good to see other countries/camps coming up with similar breakthroughs to keep the patent wars even.
But it does sound bigger as Samsungs claim was for "semiconductor wafer scale" but MITs is for large sheet of glass scale which is significantly bigger.

Using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to deposit a graphene layer on top of the nickel film, Hart says, yields “not only graphene on top [of the nickel layer], but also on the bottom.” The nickel film can then be peeled away, leaving just the graphene on top of the nonmetallic substrate.
This way, there’s no need for a separate process to attach the graphene to the intended substrate — whether it’s a large plate of glass for a display screen, or a thin, flexible material that could be used as the basis for a lightweight, portable solar cell, for example. “You do the CVD on the substrate, and, using our method, the graphene stays behind on the substrate,” Hart says
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/new-way-make-sheets-graphene-0523

Sounds like their aim is for displays etc, but I am thinking if they can place 1 atom thick graphene on something flexible then wrap it like a normal capacitor hopefully it will yield some supercap performance. I guess if it is 100 times more conductive then steel (super conductive) then if they can make wire out of it we can then have relatively heat free motors as well.

Heres another one lol. This one sounds pretty breakthroughish as well.

A simple, inexpensive spray method that deposits a graphene film can heal manufacturing defects and produce a high-quality graphene layer on a range of substrates, report researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Korea University.
The researchers demonstrated that the energy of the impact stretches the graphene and restructures the arrangement of its carbon atoms into the perfect hexagons of flawless graphene.

http://news.uic.edu/supersonic-spray-delivers-high-quality-graphene-layer

 

[TheBeastie]

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/183653-the-first-fully-2d-wonder-material-graphene-molybdenite-transistor-could-be-the-future-of-fast-electronics
The first fully-2D, wonder-material graphene-molybdenite transistor could be the future of fast electronics
Berkeley Lab has managed to sandwich both graphene and molybdenite together, to create that mythical all-2D FET. [DOI: 10.1021/nn501723y - "Field-Effect Transistors Built from All Two-Dimensional Material Components"]

 

[trav]

Any time some one says this tech an give you x amount of range I want to punch a bunny. If you want more range you can add more batteries or make the vehicle more efficient or any combination of the two. IE a leaf can easily have 48kwh of battery and go almost 2x as far or 72 kwh of batteries and go almost 3x as far. Its dumb to say you need a certain energy density to travel so far on a charge. Although it does play a factor its more of a non issue. The real reason the leaf is only 24kwh is to help keep the price down for the whole car.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here. If it's good enough to just add more batteries, we would all be riding around SLAs. If lithium sulfur batteries make it to market, and they end up being all that they are claimed to be, it could be awesome. I'm running a 48v15ah battery right now based on 18650 cells, and it works fine. However, if someone told me I could have a battery the same size as the one I have now, and it could have double the capacity with the same number of charge cycles, or maybe more, then I am all for it.

 

[Arlo1]

Any time some one says this tech an give you x amount of range I want to punch a bunny. If you want more range you can add more batteries or make the vehicle more efficient or any combination of the two. IE a leaf can easily have 48kwh of battery and go almost 2x as far or 72 kwh of batteries and go almost 3x as far. Its dumb to say you need a certain energy density to travel so far on a charge. Although it does play a factor its more of a non issue. The real reason the leaf is only 24kwh is to help keep the price down for the whole car.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here. If it's good enough to just add more batteries, we would all be riding around SLAs. If lithium sulfur batteries make it to market, and they end up being all that they are claimed to be, it could be awesome. I'm running a 48v15ah battery right now based on 18650 cells, and it works fine. However, if someone told me I could have a battery the same size as the one I have now, and it could have double the capacity with the same number of charge cycles, or maybe more, then I am all for it.

What I'm getting at is they make VERRY VAGUE statements like cars will have a xx mile range with this battery where we can easily have that with adding more battery to what ever car we want for instance the leaf can have a 48kwh battery and go basicly 2x as far as it does. But the range is limited because it has a 24kwh battery which is partially down cause a 48kwh leaf will cost more. Our range is mosty limited by price not size and weight at this point although I would like to see more energy dense battery's then we have as well.

 

[LockH]

"... But the range is limited "

The weight of the vehicle has nothing to do with things, of course. Cough, cough... hehe