Creating New Products With New Materials

We are living in one of those periods when chemistry, material science, engineering, and wild dreams are all coming together. Less than 20 years old, the practical manufacture and application of graphene are beginning to emerge. One of the major forces behind this is the CVD growth of graphene, allowing for the creation of larger quantities at more reasonable prices. You can read more about this extraordinary product and the process in this blog.

What's Happening?

There is a process of manufacturing graphene that deposits a single layer on a substrate from gas molecules in a chamber. This process is called chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Elsewhere on our website, you can find more details. CVD can produce more uniform graphene in larger volumes. It is now the preferred manufacturing process and is still undergoing significant study. Graphene's single layer, two-dimensional structure contributes to it's many unique properties.

Graphene is something of the "Superman" of material. It's the strongest material known but is extremely lightweight. It has found its way into composites and clothing to add strength. It's a great conductor of electricity and is being used in batteries, and may at some point supplant lithium as a battery component. Applications also include solid-state electronics and lighting. It conducts heat extraordinarily well.

Due to its properties, the thought games of what a graphene world might have are almost surrealistic. Parachutes that weigh no more than a t-shirt. Commercial airplanes that are stronger and safer than today's, but that use electric or solar energy to power them. New body parts replacements that last forever. All of this from one of the most common substances found on earth - carbon.

What's Next?

The graphene CVD process is definitely producing the most product currently for analysis both by those studying the uses and those studying the manufacture of it. Most of these analyses are happening in an R&D environment, so the economics are not yet established for a regular business operation. Having said that, remember that many people were willing to pay $1000 for an early LCD television that today you can buy for one-quarter of that price. Graphene is being studied by scientists and engineers throughout the world. This global interest can only spur the potential products and opportunities that will be created. In no small part, the use of processes like CVD growth of graphene is contributing to this phenomenon.

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