2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
Rice University logo made of graphene on the surface of a wooden block
Scientists at Rice University have learned how to create graphene structures from wood using a laser. On the basis of such structures, they made "wooden" electrodes and demonstrated with their help the electrolysis process. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Graphene is a two-dimensional material - a monoatomic sheet of carbon hexagons. Some scientists use it in this form, while others create volumetric structures on its basis. Such structures are easier to create, and their properties can differ significantly from the properties of a single graphene layer. In particular, researchers from Rice University (USA) have succeeded in creating and researching these structures. They had previously learned how to create graphene from many carbon-containing substances.
Now they were able to get it from regular wood. Small wooden blocks were placed in a closed chamber with a window transparent for the laser beam. In order to prevent wood from oxidizing when heated by a laser beam, inert argon or hydrogen was fed into the chamber. As a result, the wood did not burn, but turned into flocculent graphene. They tried different types of wood as starting material: birch, oak and pine. It turned out that pine is better than others for creating graphene due to the high content of lignin - one of the main components of wood.
Diagram of a laser setup and a chamber with an inert gas
Scientists have also demonstrated the possible use of the material as a basis for electronics. By applying layers of metals and phosphorus to the material, they turned it into relatively efficient electrodes for supercapacitors and electrolysis. They demonstrated the use of the structures they created for electrolysis in the video.
Scientists at Rice University have been working on the production of graphene using a laser for several years. Previously, they were able to obtain a similar material, first from a polymer film, and then from sugar, and also found that it has antibacterial properties. In addition, they have learned to impart superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic properties to such graphene.
