Is graphene starting to live up to its hype?

When graphene was first isolated in 2004 the so called “super material” was meant to change the world. The material has remarkable properties - it is 200 times stronger than steel, transparent, extremely light, flexible and also exhibits excellent electrical conductivity. Twenty years on it is starting to live up to the original hype and is being incorporated into a wide range of materials and products.
RAZOR’s Reya El-Salahi traveled to Cambridge to meet Prof. Sir Colin Humphreys, Co-founder and CSO of Paragraf, one of the first companies in the world to mass produce graphene-based electronic devices. Founded with Dr. Simon Thomas and Ivor Guiney in 2018, after a breakthrough they made at the University of Cambridge, the company now produces enough graphene to make 150,000 electronic sensors a day.
Graphene was first isolated by the University of Manchester's Prof. Sir. Andre Geim and Prof. Sir. Konstantin Novoselov. Manchester has become the UK’s home of Graphene and 2D materials research. Opening the National Graphene Institute in 2015 and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre - known as the ‘GEIC’ in 2018. Apart from electronics, graphene is mostly incorporated into another material to lighten and strengthen it. It’s been used in building materials such as concrete, consumer products such as plastic bottles and in trainers, and also in the automotive and aerospace industries.

[@jaymacpherson8167]

Brightens my day. Thank you for this news.

[@rustynails68]

Finally! Technology is always over estimated in the short term and underestimated in the long term.

[@cinemaipswich4636]

Vapour Deposition is used to make Silicon Chips, that we all know and love. In a vacuum, one can make a cloud of the element that you need, but it is several atoms thick. For metals this is easy, because they melt at a particular heat level. Carbon is very different, and I don't know how they make a cloud of Carbon, that deposits only one atom thick.

[@MattNolanCustom]

The said in the video that it is a mixture of a few different carbon compound gases which react together on the 1000 degree surface of the deposition substrate, releasing the non-carbon elements in some other compound, presumably

[@carly09et]

It's whiskey - ethanol - and formaldehyde.

[@Gersberms]

Apparently I was way behind on graphene news. This is exciting!

[@mikloscsuvar6097]

I am very happy to have nanographene in my lung beside microplastics. Thank you! 😊

[@asandax6]

It's strong and lasts longer than microplastics so that's plus. Ohh wait we already have something stronger than microplastics in our lungs silica or sand in the form of dust.

[@stage274]

You are welcome…

[@MattNolanCustom]

you probably already had some from soot and smole from wood and coal

[@s1lv3rbordeaux47]

The amazing discovery was made with two objects, a piece of cellotape & a block of graphite. Nobel prize worthy apparently.

[@lostmykeys85]

Michael Caine really is versatile

[@StefanReich]

Emma Watson has some crazy tech expertise too

[@RussellBeattie]

Graphene can do everything, except get out of the lab.

[@davidanalyst671]

I can't wait until nuclear fusion gets this far.

[@miecraftpeplayer1515]

😂

[@prime-mate]

Some of the first vehicles were battery-powered. imagine being cynical about batteries 120 years ago.. we are just apes playing with sticks, and the cynical folks are too cynical to get in the lab..

[@jedics1]

"Without being specific" it can help improve batteries. Sounds like it will be another decade before any of us experience graphene's effect on our lives...

[@Datamining101]

At least

[@SantinoDeluxe]

failed to mention the number 1 use for this circuit, the hall effect is used in all the best joysticks, were talkin billions of chips for everything from video game controllers to remote vehicles and enhanced precision medical machinery... most likely manufacturing tolerances benefit from high quality hall sensors as well

[@backgammonbacon]

They aren't using these hall effect sensors in joysticks they cost over $1000 per sensor. They use regular silicon sensors in joysticks that cost fractions of a penny.

[@SantinoDeluxe]

​@@backgammonbacon "...give it time" dade murphy

[@simontay4851]

No, the number 1 use for hall sensors is in brushless motors ( also current clamp metres). Most brushless motors have at least 1 hall sensor. Brushless PC fans use a cheap hall sensor. Joysticks use microswitches and/or potentiometers. Ive never seen a joystick with a hall sensor, Its always a potentiometer per axis. Joysticks certainly won't be using expensive graphine hall sensors anytime soon.

[@SantinoDeluxe]

@@simontay4851 lol fans dont need a hall sensor, the logic can read/track energy input directly. high-end radio controllers and the some pc/xbox/wiiu/switch controllers are already there, just cuz you never seen it... it shows ignorance to start your sentences with "no", very argumentative and smug.

[@lefthookouchmcarm4520]

4:47

[@user-sc7fk5ys6x]

Added to shoe soles and tarmacs… becoming the next environmental microplastics?

[@Voltaje_YT]

That depends, is graphene harmful as plastic? worse?, or neutral, graphene is carbon, so it shouldn't be like plastic, I think is a better replacement for plastic, if you can make it at scale.

[@ismailnyeyusof3520]

I was thinking about that too, however, I think that grapheme infused plastic might be more useful than ordinary plastic for detection, properties and recycling.

[@danguee1]

@@Voltaje_YT Maybe the harm from a microplastic is not that it 'is plastic' - but that it is small enough to pass through animal permeable barriers , chemically stable enough to persist, cause inflammation etc. In which case, graphene might be just the same. But you already have an opinion on this without looking at studies or data....

[@lephtovermeet]

This is amazing. Many people dogmatically believe that free market will solve everything - in reality the free market operates on moment. Any new ideas will have to compete with entrenched existing industries and somehow find funding with no guarantee of return generally by people with no interest in the technology, rather who just want a return. This rarely benefits totally new technologies. In the US at least there are programs to fund completely new ideas, through NSF, agriculture department, DARPA, etc. but the amount of funding supplied is usually laughably inadequate. Some friends of mine had a startup idea teach electronics and embedded programming in a novel way, they actually wln a first round NSF grant - the grant was for I think $26k. That might be enough for materials for a year or so but that's not paying for any real equipment, rent, salaries, or healthcare. The startup died.

[@rustywater3219]

Nobody mentions water filtration. Much better than RO.

[@asterlofts1565]

Probably, because this video only talks about and focuses on the use of graphene but for electronics, it is not other aspects like the example you gave.

[@yourma2000]

We're still too busy putting it on tape and looking at it under a microscope for the cameras.

[@ronfancy679]

Also HDPE can break down into micro and nanoplastics.

[@peterbodofsnik9429]

Wow. Very great

[@DanielAlvarez-sg1yd]

Thank you for the news

[@MyKharli]

i am, still waiting for my diamond coated scratch proof glasses from 30 years ago so i doubt this .

[@MadnessQuotient]

I doubt you will ever get those even though diamond coatings are an industry standard in optics. It is better for spectacle manufacturers to keep everyone on a 1~3 year replacement schedule for glasses than to provide a longer lifecycle product. Also better for your eyes and things like driving safety to change your prescription more regularly as your eyesight ages.

[@MyKharli]

@@MadnessQuotient yes but it had the same headlines 30 years ago ..`game changing...

[@soyuz281]

If graphene can be used in semiconductor, that would be a blessing. AI chips are expected to push power consumption thru the roof. Graphene in semiconductor with reduce that demand.

[@prime-mate]

So stoked for this tech!

[@BenvanBroekhuijsen]

Hmmm can't wait for the first phone with graphene ARM processor that lasts a week on a charge, and graphene photosensors that can take perfect pictures. But the big step will be, data centers that can be passively cooled, saving all that energy for other important things in life.

[@SpaceCakeism]

Been curious about the research/production status of graphene for a while, as there haven't been too much about it in the news the past few years... The hype died down a bit, while the researchers and engineers were working out the kinks, I guess. Constructive feedback: I feel a few lines got repeated and/or said by several people a bit too many times; specifically the electrical properties, that's already fairly famous. Overall high quality production; got the right people to ask the questions, and had the right questions. Seem to be prioritizing the right topics to cover at the right times.... Honestly surprised this channel hasn't gotten more followers... Algorithm has been killing it, I guess...

[@BishwaOakes]

Interesting, thanks. However, I had to turn off because of that annoyingly loud background music

[@troywhite6039]

Winer, boo who

[@Ab_Bea]

Does CGTN want their video back?

[@chenbenzvi2164]

"to see how graphene is used in the world i came to this lab here" 😂 see you in 5 years

[@AmerBoyo]

Cool!!

[@user-yi8uu1du3b]

it is worth noting that it took at about15 years from the Bardeen & Bratton's transistor to appear in usable devices like portable radios, and that was on the back of years of research making pure enough crystals. So you can bet we won't see computors using graphene chips rivalling Silicon before the mid 2030s even at todays breakneck pace. Even in military evirons, which demand performance any any price.

[@DanielAlvarez-sg1yd]

Thats amazing

[@hasandoguc]

Thx

[@byteme6346]

What CPU should be the first implemented in graphene? The venerable 6502? z80? cray 1?

[@CritiCAL74]

I now love the color blue.😊

[@DeimosSaturn]

0:38 Did anyone else dab their forehead with a handkerchief?

[@kahvac]

Let's see if it can really get out of the lab !

[@DanteS-119]

Who picked the music? Give them a raise!

[@deserteagle-nx1hl]

Plumbene = stripped down lead Gernanene = stripped down germanium Stanene = stripped down tin All are wonder materials, comparable to graphene, so maybe some enthusiastic amateur chemists watching this video can strip down some other material like manganese or nichrome etc and see what happens.

[@vickythaya4451]

This is great information, has anyone done research on the effects of this drink on cardiovascular blockage? Is this a proven fact? 😎😎

[@mikloscsuvar6097]

01:00: First I thought, he was Alex Jennings from the Crown.

[@lamebubblesflysohigh]

Graphene is lattice of carbon rings made out of 6 atoms of carbon which is basically a building block benzene which is a ring of 6 atoms of carbon and hydrogen bonded to each of them. I hope they are also investigating any possible ways single rings of carbon could split from the lattice and bond with hydrogen to form benzene which is a known and proven carcinogen before we have nasty "oops" moment when it will be everywhere like with forever chemicals.

[@diraziz396]

Fascinating. to think that We've just celebrated 3D achievements - now we're advancing to.. 2D?.. Cool

[@CharIie83]

apparently it does better than silicon in chips

[@kevinroberts781]

You can use it to identify the electrical charges in viruses. Giving you the ability to identify viruses in seconds.

[@terrene416]

You forgot about Taurus and it's first handguns made with graphene

[@Druss2012]

About fucking time. Bring on ultra fast charging graphene batteries

[@RandyTenzin]

the size of those wafers is promising.

[@Voltaje_YT]

Can graphene replace plastic in some form?

[@faliennata5350]

i do wounder since graphene is carbon why can't they program algae to produce it?

[@simontay4851]

Because algae is completely different to graphene or graphite. It has nothing to do with it. Algae is what grows in sewage polluted water.

[@faliennata5350]

@@simontay4851 i was saying it could be genetically modify. Plants are capable of complex structure. Am sure AI could be use to help to modify algae to do the task.

[@JH-pt6ih]

@@simontay4851 Algae grows in all water - it doesn't only grow in sewer treated water.

[@paulpinecone2464]

Or, graphene could be used to monetize a clickbait KZbin video. We could do that. It is within our reach.

[@chillywilson]

they should make their sensor smaller

[@smoore8807]

you guys should maybe try to normalize the volume levels of your videos

[@harbifm766766]

It is strong, super conductive, very light, and a usless scam

[@pejer6036]

0:13 it's the russian "robot" revealed to just be a guy in a suit

[@russellcollins5692]

Good Solid Old Fashioned Brain Power going on here.

[@nbrown5907]

Awesome how about the replacement of lithium ion batteries? Graphene was gonna do that and something about new CPU's.

[@stage274]

Graphene oxide promises to revolutionize lithium ion batteries. However current production methods make it cost prohibitive for mass application. Regular non oxidized, non functional graphene will not due. Regular graphene is very difficult to work with. Hates everything; not easily dispersed on substrates! Kinda good for capacitors only. This is why graphene has not changed everything as we know it yet. It’s just not functional.

[@dubsar]

Is graphene biodegradable? Can it accumulate in the environment and become a problem as pervasive as micro plastics, as unsolvable as PFAS and as damaging as asbestos?

[@dubsar]

Will we live in a future world where trillions of nanoblades will tear us apart, DNA and all, on every breath and heartbeat?

[@oldreddragon1579]

Is Graphene truly 2D or is it the smallest level of 3D ?

[@dude2542]

Good question. The atoms in the layer are linked so they are side by side, basic hexagon shapes connected to eachother. I might be wrong with the next statement, but graphene where layers are connected to eachother are called graphite. If you take a sticky tape and stick it to a pen's lead and pull it, you have created graphene.

[@oldreddragon1579]

@@dude2542 IMO Unless it has no z axis in space it's still 3D. Literally anything that has xyz no matter how small is still 3D. It's still really impressive though and looks like it could be major step in manufacturing. Thanks for your reply.

[@philliplopez8745]

High science.

[@TogetherinParis]

Georgia Institute of Technology, not Georgia Tech University--which does not exist.

[@martynhaggerty2294]

It's as though the dam is ready to burst. So many advances in technology. Ai, quantum computers and now graphene, put them all together and you get the equivalent of the smartphone of 2008. What new invention will emerge from all this?

[@hardheadjarhead]

Turn the background music down! It’s hugely distracting.

[@Enonymouse_]

Real.y?? This is CGTN Sponsored content

[@DanielAlvarez-sg1yd]

The geek sounds cool i

[@tortysoft]

When you hear it said that we can't base all our hopes on technology, this article and quite a few others show that may be we can. In order to allow, fund, target these paradigm tech advantages you need a supportive government - a Green one. #Votegreens to get one !

[@JH-pt6ih]

Pin all the hopes in the world on technology but if humans can't figure out how to be decent and live with each other and live under control technology won't save anything. It could delay or it could hasten the decline, collapse, or even eventual extinction of humans but it isn't going to save humans from themselves.

[@ronfancy679]

I MEAN WOULD IT BE TERRIBLE FOR YOU ALL TO BE WEARING MASKS IN THE CLEAN ROOM WITH THAT NANOSCOPIC MATERIAL?

[@deserteagle-nx1hl]

Another OSH fanatic with block letters screaming away. Researchers haven't found inhalation of graphene in small quantities to be harmful to human health.

[@jeremybiggs8413]

Why can’t we convert atmospheric carbon dioxide to graphene?

[@byteme6346]

But can it run Crysis? 8o)

[@Sir-Dexter]

ok more info on 5000 .....

[@georgesamaras2922]

Versarien stock has gone to zero. If graphene is so great why wouldn't sell like hot cake.

[@ericswain4177]

Don't get too excited, Borophene is likely going to surpass and or replace Graphene in many applications.

[@deserteagle-nx1hl]

Borophene is a byproduct of boron, which is rather rare. Graphite is far more prevalent and easily obtainable.

[@dude2542]

They can coexist, graphene in the long run should be much cheaper than borophene. There were other 2D materials mentioned in the video

[@Sesto11]

That scientist madam speaks like a living PhD Thesis. I think i fell in love.😂

[@Embassy_of_Jupiter]

whats giraffein?

[@ThisHatterIsMad]

That doesn't seem real. Sounds like a talk tale.

[@amirobolant8356]

Sorry, but I con't understand what people are saying because the music is so loud. Please stop using backgound music when people are talking

[@voice2skull.]

True true.

[@sanjuansteve]

I love it! How will graphene impact photovoltaic solar power generation?

[@troywhite6039]

stronger panel structures to hold them

[@bobweiram6321]

GEIC for Geeks.

[@fparent]

Interesting info but the background music is extremely distracting

[@davidmusial1611]

Sepsis and viruses are handled by IVC

[@DanielAlvarez-sg1yd]

Derisk

[@randomsitisee7113]

This is cute but Let me tell you know this will never see the light of day in leading edge chips. Anyone in the chip industry knows who is the biggest manufacturer of the leading edge chips: TSMC. And how much have they invested in silicon based manufacturing? $50B per year in last 4 years. Right. $200B of infrastructure has been put in place. It will take roughly 16 years for it to pay off. Not to mention, an entire industry of etching, dies, lasers built on Silicon as rhetoric substrate! You would have to build equipments, testing, fabs to shift to graphene. Roughly $2T dollar change. 😂Yeah that may be a hard thing to entertain. Especially because all those companies are public. Now, that being said, the paragraph company is a small foundary. They are thousands of such small scale foundaries everywhere. They do small chips, not leading edge chips that go in your iPhones or computers. And here’s the rub, it is cheaper for a lagging tech chips like cars, calculators, home pods, cameras to use silicon based chips because the capex cost by TSMC is already low due to years of manufacturing. So it would be costly for everyone to move to graphene. All the beneficial properties of graphene may be used in very niche cases. Experimental stuff. Maybe even space and Quantum Computers. QuantumC’s timeline is 12 years at the moment. It’s a good marketing video but don’t expect this in your iPhones or Google phones.

[@troywhite6039]

Completely wrong. If Elon Musk listened to you we wouldn't have the Tesla cars.

[@glike2]

Awful boom box music, please stop that

[@derekness7900]

This looks like lots of money, and nothing commercially to show for it. Sticking it in concrete - get real that is scraping the barrel

[@davidanalyst671]

thats what i said. they put carbon fiber and fiberglass in concrete before graphene. carbon fiber in crete makes it a lot stronger.

[@Equoris]

Well that was a lot of talk that said mostly nothing....lots of vague claims, maybes and...frankly people seemingly trying to convince investors :P

[@brettrietveld621]

Sounds too much like james acaster

[@lilyp4369]

lmao sourcing cgtn

[@user-sn2uf3lm5s]

$WWR graphene mine stock all time low

[@waynebynoe99]

HEY! A LITTLE CAUTION HERE!! AS MANY LOWLEVEL THIEVES!@ LURK ON THE INTERNET..

[@MrNagafen]

Graphene, the only material in the universe that rivals Trump in lies and exaggerations.

[@martinmanzinger9627]

What a buzzword bingo

[@Phyde4ux]

Stop calling graphene 2D. It is incorrect.

[@jerrys.9895]

If you draw a pencil line on a paper, would you say it is 3D? And that's hundreds or thousands of molecules thick. For practical purposes, a single-atom thick layer of graphene has no nominal height. At the molecular level, it is, of course, one atom in height, but for practical application, there is no reason not to treat it as a 2D material.

[@Phyde4ux]

@@jerrys.9895 Well. Mathematically, a line would be 1D, not sure your point is there. A square would be 2D, again, mathematically. But we're not in the field of mathematics, this is applied science. And yes, of course a carbon atom is dimensional. To be specific, its atomic radius is 0.0914 nm... in all 3 dimensions.

[@jerrys.9895]

@@Phyde4ux You proved my point with what you said. A line on paper drawn by a pencil is functionally two dimensional because it has a width (the width of the pencil tip) and a length (the length of the line). But we can shorthand it to 1D because we all understand that is how best to communicate the practical information about a drawn line. By definition, there may be no such thing as a true two-dimensional *material* that can be worked with and manipulated. That said, our experience of the world is only 3D by way of brain processing; your whole visual world is a "true" 2D reflection on the photoreceptors in your eyes. So, you can be myopic in a video explaining high-level materials science to a broad audience, relying on pedantry to muddy up the communication, or you can insist that everyone immediately learn up to your level of knowledge, without gaining them any practical benefit for the work. If you watched the whole video, you'd have even noted that they make at least two references to the "thickness" of the material, belying a third-dimension, but since we have access to the entire molecular area of the material at all times, it is for all practical applications, 2D. This is what effective science communication looks like. If a subsection of the audience becomes interested enough to research further, the nuances will become self-evident, and no one loses any meaningful information in the process.

[@vanzylbooysen4826]

White people are amazing

[@troywhite6039]

Yes we are 👻

[@tracyrreed]

Yawn.

[@sanjuansteve]

It's funny to hear physicists calling it a 2D material knowing the 3D nature of every atom.