The Graphene Flagship Project started in October 2013. The aim is to produce graphene in large quantities and at affordable prices. In order to achieve this goal quickly, more than 126 academic and industrial research groups in 17 European countries are working together to revolutionize the scientific and technological use of graphene.
Recently, there has been news about the research results so far. We have picked out two of them that we find particularly interesting for you.
Graphene production in large quantities possible
Researchers of the Graphene Flagship project, led by Prof. Jonathan Coleman from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, have found a way to produce large amounts of graphene in the course of their research. Simply by separating graphite flakes into liquids with the help of a specially designed, rotating tool (similar to a kitchen blender*). The aim is to pave the way for the low-cost mass production of a high-quality graphene.
*) Paton K.R., et al., Scalable production of large quantities of defect-free few-layer graphene by shear exfoliation in liquids. Nat. Mater. 13, 624 (2014).
Flexible, roll-up displays for your pocket
Another research highlight, which was created in cooperation with FlexEnable, is the world's first flexible display that has graphene integrated into the pixel backplane. If you combine the result with an electrophoretic imaging film, you get a power-saving, durable, flexible display that is suitable for different application scenarios in the field of "wearables" and "Internet of Things".
About Graphene
Graphene is one of the hardest and most resilient materials in the world. It's a chemical relative of diamonds, coal, or the graphite of pencil leads—only much better. With only one layer of atoms, it is one of the thinnest materials in the universe. Due to its many advantages, it is said to have enormous economic potential. In the future, it will be used for the production of solar cells, displays and microchips and will revolutionize liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used in flat screens, monitors and mobile phones instead of the indium-based materials that are currently still widely used.
If you would like to learn more about the flagship project and the results so far, you can get more information at the URL given in our source.
