[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Le scoperte più rivoluzionarie dell’umanità sono spesso avvenute per caso, o per gioco. E così è stato anche per il grafene, il materiale dei miracoli, creato quasi per scherzo da due scienziati russi, emigrati in occidente negli anni del crollo dell’Unione Sovietica. Uno scherzo che aveva per protagonisti a roll of adhesive tape and a piece of graphiteThis is how the material that promises to revolutionise entire industries, and thus our lives, was born in 2004. For their revolutionary discovery Andrej Gejm and Konstantin Novoselov received in 2010 the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Graphene is the first material practically two-dimensionalbeing made up of very thin sheets one atom thick, arranged one on top of the other. Three million sheets are needed to make a graphene layer one millimetre thick, but each sheet is two hundred times stronger, and six times more elastic, than steel. It is also an excellent electrical and thermal conductor, even at room temperature, as it has been verified that the electrons within its molecular structure move without apparent friction, as if they had negligible mass.
A honeycomb structure which, despite being almost invisible, is so dense that not even helium, the thinnest and lightest gas, can pass through its mesh.
The applications of this material are incredible importance for the future of mankindso much so that many commentators have gone so far as to call this the century of graphene, as the 20th century had been the century of plastic.
Electronics
Used as a semiconductor, it performs far better than current materials. A speed of 300 Ghz has already been achieved in the laboratory, more than seven times the speed of today's highest-performance materials. Graphene is also an excellent conductor of electricity, better than copper and much lighter. It also becomes a magnetic material even when crossed by low-intensity currents.
Photovoltaic cells
Panels made with graphene have already proven to be twice as efficient as the best performing panels of today.
Lighting
In the laboratories of Columbia Engineering, a miniaturised light bulb has been created from a graphene filament invisible to the naked eye. When subjected to electrical voltage, the graphene heats up to 2,500 degrees and emits light radiation.
Desalination
An experiment using graphene as a material to achieve reverse osmosis was carried out at MIT. Its molecular structure makes it possible to create holes of any size on the surface, thus allowing water to be separated from salts. Using this new technique, the desalination process is 100 times faster and immensely cheaper than before. An incredible possibility for populations close to the sea who have a shortage of fresh water.
Hydrogen production
This discovery is the result of an experiment carried out by the University of Calabria: by depositing a layer of graphene on a nickel plate, it was verified that this material is able to break down water molecules, releasing the hydrogen and retaining it in the meshes of its structure. To release the hydrogen, it is sufficient to heat the material to 130 degrees. So from a pool of seawater, thanks to graphene, it will be possible to obtain not only water for the population and agriculture, but also fuel. All almost free of charge, with industrial processes powered by high-performance photovoltaic panels, made from graphene film, of course.
Sources: Treccani.it – Enea.it/publications[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_button dimension=”outline” corner_style=”full_rounded” size=”medium” icon=”mk-icon-home” url=”/” align=”center” margin_top=”15″ margin_bottom=”0″ margin_right=”0″]Torna alla Home[/mk_button][/vc_column][/vc_row]
