by Fatih Erkan Dogan and Andrew Jay Rosenbaum
ANKARA
The Turkish technology company Nanografi has achieved a technical advance in the production of Graphene, an advanced material made from ultrathin sheets of carbon, making the product much cheaper to produce.
Graphene has vast possibilities for use in a wide range of products, scientists say, so making it cheaper means that will become much more accessible.
-What is Graphene?
Graphene is pure carbon in the form of a very thin, nearly transparent sheet, one atom thick and it is described as virtually a two-dimensional material.
"Although scientists knew one atom thick, two-dimensional crystal graphene existed, no-one had worked out how to extract it from graphite. That was until it was isolated in 2004 by two Russian-born researchers at The University of Manchester, Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov," according to the website of the University of Manchester, where the two scientists made the discovery. The two scientists won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for the discovery.
It is ultra-light, yet immensely tough. It is 200 times stronger than steel, but is incredibly flexible. It is fire resistant yet retains heat. It is a superb conductor, but not even helium can pass through it, the website said.
Graphene will enable technical advances in medical procedures, including cancer treatment, the website said. It can be used as a membrane to separate liquids, or for desalinization. It can be used in the aerospace, defense, and automobile industries, and in mobile phones and cameras to increase battery life as well, the website explained.
-Nanografi makes it cheaper
The Project Manager of Nanografi Mehmet Basci explained to The Anadolu Agency on Monday how Nanografi has improved the production process.
“Normally this product is produced from the oil based materials. But we managed to produce it from a special plant grows in India and it was more efficient than conventional methods”
We have already started to export this product, Basci. The company is currently negotiating with officials for factory site in an R&D center based in Hamburg to meet the demand from abroad.
“Fifty grams of imported Graphene previously cost $2000. We offer the same amount of Graphene for just $200. And manufacturing this product in a local facility will reduce import costs.” he said.
Reducing the cost of Graphene will make it more accessible to much wider range of products where it can be used to advantage, Basci pointed out. At the higher costs, relatively few manufacturers could afford to use it. Now it will accessible to a large number of producers, for a wide range of products, Basci said.
