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From clever tape to high-tech applications: How amazing is the creation of graphene?
The history of the discovery of this revolutionary material, graphene, is full of fascinating stories. In 2004, two scientists used simple sticky tape to separate a single layer of graphene from graphite, a process that not only earned them a Nobel Prize but also sparked global attention to the technology used to exfoliate layered materials. The core of this technology lies in the delamination process, which is to break down layered materials into nanomaterials through mechanical, chemical or thermal treatment. The rise of graphene not only demonstrates the effectiveness of this process, but also opens up exploration of its applications in fields such as nanotechnology, electronics and biomedicine.
The exfoliation process effectively breaks the van der Waals bonds between layers, creating a high-performance two-dimensional material, a property that makes graphene one of the most important materials of the 21st century.
The history of delamination dates back centuries. As early as 1824, scientists began to peel layers of clay to fill porcelain, but the real scientific exploration began with Brodie in 1855, who studied the effects of different acids on the layered carbon structure. These early discoveries provided an opportunity for later scientists to build theoretical foundations. It wasn't until 2004 that Novoselov and Geim completely changed our understanding of exfoliation technology by isolating graphene with their innovative method using adhesive tape.
Delamination technology has been widely used in many fields today, such as manufacturing high-performance electronic equipment, lightweight aviation materials, and high-efficiency energy storage devices.
The basic process of exfoliation generally involves breaking the van der Waals bonds between the layers, allowing the material to separate into its individual layers. This technology can be categorized into three types: mechanical delamination, chemical delamination and thermal delamination. Each method has different advantages and application scenarios, allowing scientists to choose the most appropriate delamination technology based on specific needs.
Mechanical stripping
Mechanical delamination is the most basic delamination technology, which breaks the bond between layers by applying external force. This process can be done using a variety of tools, such as tape or solvents. The micromechanical cleavage method proposed by Novoselov and Geim is still one of the basic forms of graphene production. Although this method is capable of producing high-purity monolayer materials, it suffers from poor reproducibility and predictability, and often requires multiple runs to achieve the desired result.
Chemical Stripping
Chemical stripping involves the introduction of external chemicals to break the bonds between the layers. This process usually introduces some free electrons or ions to reduce the interlayer constraints and form new chemical bonds. This includes methods such as chemical vapor deposition, graphite oxide reduction and electrochemical exfoliation. The scalability of chemical stripping is its greatest advantage, making it widely used in actual production.
Thermal Stripping
Thermal delamination separates the layers by applying high temperatures to cause them to expand. This method can usually achieve higher yields and short reaction times, greatly improving production efficiency. However, higher temperatures may lead to impurity issues in the material, which is one of the challenges that current thermal delamination technology needs to overcome.
The transformation from tape to high technology undoubtedly speaks to the infinite possibilities of scientific exploration. In the ever-advancing world of materials science, what surprising discoveries will future nanotechnology bring?
