Graphene already on sale
In 2010, Andrei Gejm and Konstantin Novosiolov of the University of Manchester were awarded the Nobel Prize for their research on graphene. However, the theoretical description of the material itself was created much earlier, in 1947. Graphene is a two-dimensional material made of atomsóin carbon. It is attracting interest due to its unique properties. It is 300 times stronger than steel, and it is also light and flexible. It is an excellent electrical conductor. It has the properties of a bacteriobóycze, it is waterproof and almost transparent.
We have been hearing about graphene for several years, but so far no product made of this material has come into our hands. But it could screw upótce change. This is because sheets of graphene measuring 50×50 cm have appeared on the market. This could be the beginning of a revolution, thanks to whichógraphene cruise will transform biomedicine, automotive, technology and defense industries.
Graphene produced at the Warsaw Institute of Technology Materialóin Electronics (ITME) is obtained using copper foil, on which theócruise „bred” graphene. From this material it is then easy to transfer it to other. Production requires a special high-temperature reactor and complex technology. Graphene sheets in the size of 30×30 have already appeared on the market.
A wide range of applications
The applications of graphene are wide. From flexible phoneów through superfast computers to space technology. List ideaóin the use of graphene is very long. However, everything was hampered by the high cost of obtaining this material, and in this field it is the Poles who have the greatest merit, because it was our scientists who developed a simple and cheap method of obtaining graphene with properties close to the theoretical ones.
Manufacturers see applications for the material in biomedicine to begin with. Research in this area is already underway at the Medical University of Wroclaw under the guidance of Dr. Dariusz Biały and at the Institute of Low Temperatures and Structural Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wroclaw under the leadership of Professor Wieslaw Stręk. Work is being carried out on the possibilities of using graphene coating in stents, artificial heart valves or catheters. It is supposed to result in greater tolerance of the body to implanted devices. In turn, the compositeół professor Ewa Sawosz-Chwalibóg of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences is researching the use of graphene in cancer therapy mózgu. The Jagiellonian Institute is using graphene in research on comóstem cells.
Nano Carbon also sees applications for graphene in the defense industry. – OPTIGRAF has developed functioning models of optical windows with a transparent graphene heating layer. Constructed windows perform the assumed functions of resistance heating with high light transmission in the visible and infrared bands. Window designs with a graphene layer sandwiched between layers of glass have also been developed, making such windows resistant to environmental conditions and maintenance treatments. This type of solution could have applications for the military, automotive or optoelectronic devices, Dr. Grzegorz Gawlik of ITME's Microstructural Research Department told PAP.
