The extremely high flammability of graphene is considered to be a hindrance to further development and commercialization. However, with this new discovery it is now possible to mass-produce graphene and graphene membranes in order to enhance a host of products ranging from solar cells to fuel cells to sensors and supercapacitors. Tian holds a provisional patent for this new discovery.
Researchers in Tian's laboratory used metal ions with three or more positive charges to attach graphene-oxide flakes into a transparent membrane. This new type of carbon-polymer sheet is mechanically strong, nontoxic and flexible, besides being non-flammable.
Additional testing of the material established that bonding, or crosslinking, using rare-earth metals and transition metals, resulted in the graphene oxide comprising of new optical, magnetic and semiconducting properties.
For the past 10 years, scientists concentrated on graphene, a two-dimensional material that is a single atom in thickness, because it is one of the lightest, strongest and most conductive materials known. It is for these reasons that graphene and other similar two-dimensional materials have great potential to substitute for standard semiconductors. Graphene oxide is a common intermediate for graphene-derived materials produced from graphite and graphene. Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon.
Hulusi Turgut, doctoral student in the U of A microelectronics-photonics program and the Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, conducted the research. Fengjiao Yu and Wuzong Zhou, from the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom, executed a part of the material's characterization.
The outcomes were published by the researchers in The Journal of Physical Chemistry. The University of Arkansas patented this intellectual property.