New Nano-material Could Revolutionize the Electronics Industry
A new nano-material could help revolutionize the electronics industry. The remarkable material offers several promising properties. Technology Briefing
Transcript
A new nano-material could help revolutionize the electronics industry. The remarkable material offers several promising properties:
High resilience to extreme conditions
Transparency
Light weight
Flexibility
The ability to conduct electricity easily
As recently reported in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the University of Exeter call their discovery GraphExeter, which is adapted from the "wonder material" graphene.
At just one atom thick, graphene is the thinnest substance capable of conducting electricity. It is very flexible and is one of the strongest known materials. The race has been on for scientists and engineers to adapt graphene for flexible electronics and other applications where performance is necessary under tough conditions.
That's what makes GraphExeter so exciting. Unlike ordinary graphene, it can withstand relative humidity of up to 100 percent for 25 days, at temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius. In a vacuum, it can withstand temperatures of up to 620 degrees Celsius.
These properties position GraphExeter as a viable and attractive replacement to indium tin oxide (ITO) the main conductive material currently used in smart mirrors, smart windows, and some solar panels. The research also suggests that GraphExeter could extend the lifetime of displays, such as TV screens, that are located in highly humid environments, like kitchens.
Having an optically transparent and flexible metallic conductor stable at temperatures above 600 degrees Celsius can also enable novel technologies for space applications, or for harsh environments such as in nuclear power plants.
Comments
Very interesting. With respect to the Oil and Gas industry this material could be a game changer for the down-hole electronics used to log very high temperature wells. Also for Geo Thermal logging applications where temperatures exceed 700F.
