A new technique to manufacture graphene could lead to a
new era for electronic displays, according to a report published by a team of
researchers from the University of Glasgow. Graphene is a thin layer of carbon
that is more than 200 times stronger than steel, conducts heat and electricity,
and is nearly transparent.
By using the ultrasmooth copper foils found in
lithium-ion batteries, researchers were able to drive down production costs
from $115 per square meter to $1. Devices using the graphene sheets performed
better in tests.
“Large-scale and low-cost synthesis of high-quality
graphene films and the compatibility of our method to the roll-to-roll
fabrication would open an avenue through the realization of graphene-based flexible
optoelectronic systems such as cellphones with roll-up displays, e-paper,
radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, as well as medical patches that can
be attached to the skin,” the researchers wrote in their report.
