Thought To Be Impossible – Scientists Uncover Hidden World Using Newly Found Properties of a Graphene-Like Material

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Scientists at the University of Manchester and EPFL have uncovered a hidden world using the fluorescent properties of boron nitride, a 2D material similar to graphene. The study was published in the journal Nature Materials. 

Boron nitride exhibits fluorescent properties when it comes into contact with liquids. This allows scientists to track individual molecules within nanofluidic structures. 

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has a honeycomb structure similar to graphene. It is about 10 to 30 millionths of a millimeter thick. 

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon. It is made up of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure. Graphene is a semimetal with unusual electronic properties. It conducts heat and electricity very efficiently along its plane. 

Graphene was isolated in 2004 by two researchers at The University of Manchester. Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

Overcoming Microscopy Limitations

Thanks to an unexpected property of boron nitride, EPFL’s researchers have achieved what was once thought impossible. This 2D material possesses a remarkable ability to emit light when in contact with liquids. By leveraging this property, scientists at EPFL’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology have succeeded in directly observing and tracing the paths of individual molecules within nanofluidic structures. This revelation opens the door to a deeper understanding of the behaviors of ions and molecules in conditions that mimic biological systems

Collaborative efforts from scientists at EPFL and the University of Manchester have uncovered a previously hidden world by using the newly found fluorescent properties of a graphene-like 2D material, boron nitride

Graphene has many potential technological and industrial uses. Some recent advances in graphene and graphene-based technologies include: 

  • Electronics Graphene can be used to make faster transistors, semiconductors, and bendable phones. It can also be used to improve touch screens and make computer circuitry. 
  • Biomedical technology Graphene can be used in tissue engineering and deep brain implants. It can also be incorporated with a polymer to make electromechanical sensors. 
  • Biosensors Graphene has a high surface area, electrical conductivity, and electron transfer rate. It can also immobilize different biomolecules. 

Other applications of graphene include: Energy storage, Sensors, Coatings, Composites, Supercapacitors. 

Recent Advances in Graphene and Graphene-Based Technologies is a reference text that provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in graphene-based research and technology.

Graphene is used in many industries because of its unique properties

  • Strength: Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel. 
  • Flexibility: Graphene is lightweight and flexible. 
  • Electrical conductivity: Graphene is electrically and thermally conductive. 
  • Transparency: Graphene is transparent. 
  • Surface area: Graphene has a high specific surface area. 

Graphene’s other properties include: 

  • High resistance 
  • Permeability 
  • High optical properties 

Graphene has many potential applications, including: 

  • Anti-corrosion coatings and paints 
  • Efficient and precise sensors 
  • Flexible displays 
  • Efficient solar panels 
  • Faster DNA sequencing 
  • Drug delivery

Graphene was discovered in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two researchers at the University of Manchester. The discovery was published in 2004 and the two researchers won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics

Geim and Novoselov discovered graphene by peeling layers off of graphite using Scotch tape. They then analyzed what was left. 

Graphene has a long history. In 1859, Benjamin Collins Brodie noticed a structure in thermally reduced graphite oxide. In 1916, the structure of graphene was determined using powder diffraction. In 1947, P. R. Wallace explored graphene theoretically. In 1962, Hanns-Peter Boehm and his co-workers experimentally discovered graphene.

The paper that announced the discovery of graphene was titled “Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films”. It was published in Science magazine in October 2004. The paper is one of the most cited papers in materials physics. 

The paper described the fabrication, identification, and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) characterization of graphene.  It was rejected twice by Nature. One reader said that isolating a stable, two-dimensional material was “impossible”. Another reader said that it was not “a sufficient scientific advance”. 

The paper was written by Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov, and their collaborators from the University of Manchester and the Institute for Microelectronics Technology in Chernogolovka.

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselovwon the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their experiments with graphene. The two physicists were professors at the University of Manchester

Geim was born in Sochi, Russia in 1958.  He is a Regius Professor of Physics and Royal Society Research Professor at the National Graphene Institute.  Novoselov was born in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. He studied for his PhD under Geim’s supervision at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. 

Geim and Novoselov discovered graphene in 2004 by peeling layers off of graphite using Scotch tape. They showed that a single layer of graphene could be isolated and transferred to another substrate. They also demonstrated that electrical characterization could be done on a few such layers. 

Geim and Novoselov have published many research papers in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature.

In 2004, Geim and Novoselov used a mechanical exfoliation method to isolate graphene. They used Scotch tape to extract thin layers of graphite from a graphite crystal. They then transferred the layers to a silicon substrate. 

Other techniques used to synthesize graphene include: 

  • Epitaxial growth 
  • Liquid phase exfoliation 
  • Electrochemical exfoliation 
  • Chemical vapor deposition 
  • Oxidation of graphite 

Chemical vapor deposition is a common technique for synthesizing graphene. In this process, scientists heat a copper foil and then deposit a combination of carbon and other gases onto it

Here are some other methods for producing graphene: 

  • Epitaxial growth This method uses a silicon carbide wafer to produce graphene at high temperatures. 
  • Liquid phase exfoliation This method uses solvents like acetic acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrogen peroxide to exfoliate graphite through ultrasonication. 
  • Electrochemical exfoliation This method uses a direct current (DC) voltage to dissociate graphite flakes into an electrolyte solution. 

Other methods for producing graphene include: 

  • Oxidation of graphite 
  • Exfoliation of GO of graphite

Graphene is made from graphite, which is abundant in nature and easy to obtain. Graphene is also made from other carbon sources, including: 

Charcoal, Coconut cell, Saw powder, Bagasse, Methane, Hydrogen, A transition metal. 

Graphene can also be made from waste products, such as: 

Honey, Sugarcane extract, Animal waste, Essential oil, Rice husk, Vegetable waste, Leaf waste, Coconut shell, Orange peel. 

Graphene can be made at home in small quantities.

The purest form of graphene is research grade graphene powder. It has one to two graphene layers, making it lighter. It’s a fine black powder. 

Graphene is pure carbon. It’s a single layer of carbon atoms bonded together in a hexagonal structure. Graphene is two-dimensional and 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. It’s the strongest material on Earth, 200 times stronger than steel. It’s also harder to scratch than diamond

Graphene is 300 times stronger than steel at the nano scale. It’s the strongest material ever discovered because of its strong carbon bonds. Graphene’s carbon bonds are 0.142 nanometers long. It has an ultimate tensile strength of 130 gigapascals, compared to 400 gigapascals for A36 structural steel

Graphene is also: 

  • Flexible: Can stretch up to 20% of its volume 
  • Conductive: Can charge a cell phone in five seconds 
  • Lightweight: Can hold about 2 tons of weight 
  • Heat resistant: Can hold together at up to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit 
  • Acid resistant: Can withstand acids 
  • Light absorbing: Has interesting light absorption abilities 

Graphene is also the thinnest material known to man, measuring one atom thick

Applications and Future Potential

This newfound understanding of molecular properties has exciting applications, including the potential to directly image emerging nanofluidic systems, where liquids exhibit unconventional behaviors under pressure or voltage stimuli. The research’s core lies in the fluorescence originating from single-photon emitters at the hexagonal boron nitride’s surface. “This fluorescence activation came unexpectedly, as neither hBN nor the liquid exhibit visible-range fluorescence on their own. It most likely arises from molecules interacting with surface defects on the crystal, but we are still not certain of the exact mechanism,” says doctoral student Nathan Ronceray, from LBEN

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a 2D material that has many similarities to graphene. Both materials have hexagonal lattices of atoms. In graphene, the atoms are all carbon, but in hBN, each hexagon contains three boron atoms and three nitrogen atoms

Here are some other properties of hBN: 

  • Structure: Has a layered structure similar to graphite 
  • Color: White 
  • Electrical conductivity: Does not conduct electricity 
  • Chemical stability: Inert 
  • Heat resistance: Heat resistant 

hBN has many exceptional properties, including: 

  • Electric insulation 
  • Low dielectric constant 
  • Easy synthesis 
  • High-temperature stability 
  • Corrosion resistance 

hBN is used in many applications, including: 

  • Electrical insulation in consumer electronics 
  • Improving heat dissipation in high-performance components 
  • The cosmetics industry(full article source google )

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