Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene 1 1 1

Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene What is graphene? Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a two-dimensional, atomic-scale. It is the basic structural element of other allotropes, including graphite. Graphene has many extraordinary properties. It is about 100 times stronger than the strongest steel with a hypothetical thickness of 3.35Å, which is equal to the thickness of the graphene sheet. It conducts heat and electricity efficiently. The term graphene first appeared in 1987 to describe single sheets of graphite. Types of carbon Carbon in nature is found in three forms called allotropes: diamond, graphite, and fullerenes. Graphite is in pencils. Diamonds are the hardest natural mineral. Fullerenes are mostly of interest to science because a special, allotrope of carbon is the carbon nanotube. 2 2

Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene Why are people excited about graphene? “Graphene is a wonderful material,” Jeanie Lau, a professor of physics at the University of California. “It conducts heat 10 times better than copper and electricity 100 times better than silicon, is transparent like plastic, extremely lightweight, extremely strong, yet flexible and elastic. In the past decade, it has taken the scientific and technology communities by storm, and has become the most promising electronic material to supplement or replace silicon.” 3 3

Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene Some possible applications of graphene: Many uses for graphene have been proposed or are under development, in areas including electronics, biological engineering, filtration, composite materials and energy storage. Graphene is often produced as a powder and as a dispersion in a polymer matrix. This dispersion is suitable for advanced composites, paints and coatings, lubricants, oils, capacitors and batteries, solar cells ... 4 4

Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene Manufacturing methods Usually, graphene is produced through a process known as chemical vapor deposition. This process basically transforms gases into a thin film of graphene on a special copper surface. The copper base usually used to produce graphene is expensive in itself, and researchers replace this high-cost copper for commercial copper foils. 5 5

Lingva Technical English Projects Graphene Graphene in Serbia Graphene was first discovered in 2004. Most of the research is still what we'd describe as "blue sky": it could be many years or even decades before it can be developed practically, let alone cost-effectively. In Serbia, it will probably take even longer ... u srbiji probably for many more years 6 6

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