Researchers, Professor Sir Andre Geim and Dr. Irina Grigorieva, from The University of Manchester have demonstrated that graphene can be made to behave like a magnet.
The Manchester researchers have reported their research in Nature Physics. The findings of this latest study are vital to advance the potential use of graphene in the electronics field. Graphene is a one-atom-thick carbon material wherein atoms are aligned in a chicken wire-like structure. Contrary to materials such as nickel and iron, graphene does not exhibit traditional magnetism in its pristine state.
During the research, the scientists either took away some carbon atoms from a non-magnetic graphene or peppered the material with non-magnetic atoms such as fluorine. The empty spaces termed as vacancies and integrated atoms became magnetic similar to atoms of materials such as iron.
The research team discovered that to act as magnetic atoms, defects’ concentration must be minimal and they must be remotely placed from one another. If several defects are integrated into graphene, they stay very close to each other, resulting in the cancellation of magnetism of one another. While in vacancies, graphene is disintegrated due to the high concentration of the defects.
According to Geim, although the magnetism in graphene is minimal, the findings are important to better understand the potential of the wonder material. The observed phenomenon is useful in spintronics devices, which operate based on the coupling of electric current and magnetism, he added.
Source: http://www.manchester.ac.uk