HONG KONG: Researchers have been focusing on Graphene as it can do wonders for smartphone batteries and other electronic devices, but its high cost has always hindered its use. A more cost-effective way to manufacture the material has been found. The University of Glasgow researchers have a way to produce grapheme in excess without spending much.
The material is traditionally produced through ‘chemical vapour deposition’, which involves combining different gases inside a reaction of chamber. A film of graphene gets deposited on a substrate surface, after the combination. The researchers still followed the same process, but they make use of the cheaper copper foils for the surface.
According to Irish Independent, copper foils are not just significantly cost-effective the researchers have discovered that they are an excellent medium to form graphene. The cheap way may finally pave way for better batteries.
Graphene can be produced for only over a half pound per square meter. This was the amount of copper used by the researchers at the university.
Contrary to this, the cost of the copper used in the traditional methods was about £75. TechRadar reported that it also required a special preparation process that also costs high. The copper and method used by the researchers do not need extra costs.
Dr Ravinder Dahiya, who headed the university researchers, said, “Our process produces high-quality graphene at low cost, taking us one step closer to creating affordable new electronic devices with a wide range of applications, from the smart cities of the future to mobile healthcare”.
