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  • Graphene and Its Application in Electronics
    Oct 15, 2019 | ACS MATERIAL LLC

    If you haven’t yet heard of a material called graphene, you likely will soon enough. Graphene is a revolutionary material made up of a single layer of graphite atoms arranged as a single sheet. It is known as the strongest, lightest, thinnest, and hardest material on the planet and its source is virtually limitless since it’s made of carbon, the fourth most common element in the known universe. Graphene has hundreds of practical applications in fields ranging from the textile industry to aerospace applications, and in computing and electronics in general. As a result, graphene manufacturers are currently working to develop production methods that will allow for the rapid growth and implementation of this miraculous material.

    Due to its greatly beneficial conductive properties, graphene currently makes its presence most known to the world within the electronics industry. With its incredible strength, high thermal conductivity, and high electron mobility, graphene has the potential to revolutionize electronics and the way they are manufactured now and well into the future. Graphene may even replace electronic mainstay silicon in many applications, as its properties surpass the capabilities of silicon in many instances. With the demand expected to rise as more applications are developed, graphene manufacturing companies will be ramping up production to keep up with the pace of innovation. Keep reading to learn more about some of the electronic applications in which graphene could be used to produce stronger, faster, and longer-lasting high-performance electronics and components.

    Graphene and its Application in Electronics Blog Image 1

    Batteries

    Batteries provide the ability to store electrical energy, whether that energy is generated or captured from sources such as the sun. However, batteries have also served as a limiting factor in the development of desired, beneficial outcomes like solar power proliferation and electric automobiles. For years, all forms of batteries came with tradeoffs regarding performance, capacity, and chargeability. Graphene can be used to produce results superior to current battery types while weighing less and being cheaper to the manufacturer. Also, graphene can be used for battery anodes, which can result in extending the life and capacity of existing battery technologies such as lithium-ion cells.

    Touchscreens

    Touchscreens have rapidly evolved over the last decade and are now more sensitive, durable, and affordable than their predecessors. Graphene can further revolutionize touchscreens because it’s thinner and stronger than any other material. It also retains its electrical conductivity, which makes it a nearly perfect fit for the rigors of smartphone screen usage. Graphene could replace the current industry standard, indium tin oxide, sooner rather than later.

    Integrated Circuits

    Graphene has already been tested for use in transistors, though it’s not a natural semiconductor. When standard silicon was replaced with graphene, the result was a transistor that was twice as fast as the silicon version. Research has continued using graphene transistors linked together into longer circuits, and the results have been promising. Graphene circuits could very well create exponential advances in circuit performance, which will be mirrored by the advances in associated electronic hardware.

    Graphine and its Application in Electronics Blog Image 2

    Flexible Memory

    Another way that graphene could impact computing is through transparent flexible memory applications. Using graphene oxide blended with titanium oxide, researchers have been able to create transparent flexible memory that could one day be used in bendable or foldable smartphones, folding television screens, smart clothing, or wearable medical diagnostic devices. Not only are these memory devices bendable, but they also outperform current materials used for memory with higher speeds and increased capacity.

    Solar Power Generation

    Currently, solar photovoltaic panels utilize silicon crystals in order to translate photons of light into electrical energy. Whether the panels are of the higher-performing monocrystalline variety or the more economical polycrystalline version, a free electron is generated from each photon of light that strikes the silicon crystal. Graphene offers a dramatic improvement to that level of performance, as graphene can generate multiple free electrons per photon of light. It’s also thinner, stronger, more cost-effective, and more readily available than silicon. That means solar panels could be placed virtually anywhere from phone cases to car roofs to sidewalk tiles and they can provide a constant flow of electrical energy. 

    Graphene could very well revolutionize the electronics industry thanks to its wide variety of beneficial properties. To learn more about graphene and its applications in the field of electronics, visit ACS Material.

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