By Tina Casey •
June 26, 2009
Move over, silicon: graphene is ready for its closeup. Discovered just a few years ago, graphene is a sheet of graphite the thickness of just one atom. It can be processed like silicon to make electronic devices, which makes it easier to manipulate than the current “it” material, carbon nanotubes. Without the breakdown problems that beset silicon at the nanoscale, graphene is bringing the dream of a molecule-sized computer closer to reality.
By Andrew Williams •
November 11, 2008
US Scientists have figured out a way to mass produce the nanomaterial graphene, opening the door to significant advances in the storage of hydrogen, as well as the electricity produced by solar and wind energy.
Graphene, produced by reducing graphite down to a sheet only one atom thick, is one of the strongest materials known to man. It has been shown to have huge potential for hydrogen and renewable energy storage, but up until now has been held back by a lack of supply. Now the team, based at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA, have discovered a method of producing graphene sheets in large quantities.
By Ariel Schwartz •
October 6, 2008
Hydrogen cars may be feasible sooner than previously thought thanks to the efforts of a research team at the University of Crete in Greece. The scientists have developed a hydrogen storage model that can store up to 41 grams of hydrogen per liter— almost matching the US Department of Energy’s target of 45 grams per liter.
By Nick Chambers •
September 26, 2008
Whatever you do, don’t call it a battery.
A research group at the University of Texas at Austin has taken a carbon-based nanomaterial called graphene, and developed it into a device that has the potential to vastly improve upon the energy storage capacity of batteries. Reportedly, graphene could also double the current maximum storage capacity of the group of battery alternatives known as ultracapacitors.
If the research group’s findings bear out when applied to reality, it could mean a complete phase change in the way we approach energizing not only our transportation sector, but our entire energy infrastructure.
