LONDON: Scientists have created origami-style graphene paper that can fold itself away. The breakthrough was made after scientists discovered a method of using heat and infrared light to move a thin graphene sheet.
The paper could be used to create anything from tiny robots to artificial muscles and self-folding flatpack furniture, according to a recent study.
Graphene is one of the world’s thinnest, strongest and most pliable materials.
In the latest experiment, researchers used two kinds of graphene sheets, both one atom thick and infused with hydrogen and oxygen compounds.
Researchers from Donghua University in China found that gently heating a sheet of graphene paper, could create a device that is able to walk forward and backward.
When heat was applied, the graphene absorbed water from the air allowing parts of it to shrink, bend, and move around.
The tiny origami sheets – small enough to fit on a fingernail – also changed direction. This is the first time this has been achieved in any self-folding device.
