A team of researchers at the University of Exeter's Centre for Graphene Science have recently developed a new method for producing graphene.
Their new method could prove to be easier and cheaper than those methods which are used currently. The researchers revealed their recent findings in the journal 2D Materials, and they say that their aim was to develop a much simpler production process for the material, as well they wanted to increase the variety and range of surfaces that the material can be placed on.
When it comes to producing graphene, there are a number of steps that are involved. There is the growth stage, the transfer stage, and there's patterning. But there isn't only one way to go about trying to produce it either, there are a number of ways that you can approach trying to make it. There are even do-it-yourself methods that are easy enough for almost anyone to try, using just a pencil and regular tape. But when it comes to making mass quantities of the stuff, it's alleged to be impressively inefficient.
Another scientist, David Boyd from Caltech, just last year also claimed that he discovered a newer and faster way to go about producing mass quantities of graphene for the market.
If it can be demonstrated that either methods of graphene production will work just as well at the commercial scale as it did for the researchers in their lab, then it could really help to pave the way for a quick boost in graphene production in the market around the world. This material is well poised to drastically change the world and many of the everyday products around us.
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Sources:
http://www.graphene-battery.net/graphene.htm
https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/24588
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/graphene-production-method/
http://www.thelatestnews.com/why-is-graphene-so-special/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a14651/this-scientist-invented-a-simply-way-to-mass-produce-graphene/