Newswise — Of all the molecules that are known to exist, one is stronger, more impermeable to gases, and better at conducting electricity than any other. And you have probably never heard of it. It is graphene, and it is the focus of intense scientific study by governments, educational institutions, and corporations.
In April, BU and the National University of Singapore (NUS) launched a research collaboration to probe the properties and potential uses of graphene. The partnership will bring BU researchers from the physics department and College of Engineering (students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty) to the NUS Graphene Research Centre (GRC) in Singapore.
There, they will have access to a state-of-the-art nanofabrication facility with a full range of cutting-edge equipment such as atomic force microscopy, e-beam lithography and other arcane-sounding devices. The BU physics department will also host faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and students from NUS to study at BU.
Researchers believe graphene can revolutionize everything from touchscreens to medical imaging devices to electrical circuits.
Belying its eye-popping properties, graphene has a very simple structure. The nanomaterial consists of a single layer of carbon atoms bound very firmly in a hexagonal lattice. Graphene is the same substance that makes up graphite, just stripped down to an atom-thick plane using special adhesive tape. This technical process was perfected by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester in England, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their groundbreaking experiments on graphene.
The opportunity to collaborate so closely with other researchers studying different aspects of the same material is a big reason why CAS Physics Professor Antonio Castro Neto agreed to serve as director of the center.
“Science is always more productive when people collaborate,” says Castro Neto. “This program will allow students to have an international experience that many other universities can’t offer. Faculty and post-doctoral researchers will be able to do research at the frontier of material science.”
Castro Neto, a condensed matter theorist who studies electrical properties of different materials, was one of the first theorists to investigate graphene. He has a bold vision for the collaboration with NUS.
“I would like this program to make BU a world leader in material research,” he says. “I think graphene is just the tip of the iceberg, that there are lots of materials like graphene waiting to be discovered.”
The NUS collaboration is funded by a generous grant from the Spanish bank Banco Santander. The funding is the latest in a fruitful partnership between CAS and Banco Santander. The bank has also funded Hispanic Voices, a series of cultural events organized by the CAS Department of Romance Studies in collaboration with the College of Fine Arts and the international nonprofit Instituto Cervantes.
CAS Physics Professor Claudio Rebbi, who helped launch the program, believes graphene could allow engineers to make computing devices that are even smaller and faster than the current stock of phones, sensors, or laptops.
“I think it can contribute to generating less power-hungry, smaller devices of various kinds and may be a further step in the tech revolution,” says Rebbi, a particle physicist.
One of the potential uses of the material that has drawn the most attention is in touchscreen devices. Graphene would be a big improvement over Indium Tin Oxide, the current material most used in touchscreens; graphene is less brittle, more transparent, and less expensive than Indium Tin Oxide.
Despite its strength, graphene is flexible. It can be stretched up to 20 percent beyond its length. And, because it is only one atom thick, it is very bendable and can be molded to almost any surface. This means it could be used not just for touchscreens but, hypothetically, for touch-sensitive fabrics or other touch-sensitive objects.
In other words, expect to hear a lot more about graphene in the years to come.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. As Boston University’s largest academic division, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences is the heart of the BU experience, creating an extensive global reach that enhances the University’s reputation for teaching and research.
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