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Here is the full transcript of Nai-Chang Yeh’s TEDx Talk: A New World Composed of Graphene-Based Technology at TEDxTaoyuan conference.
TRANSCRIPT:
Carbon is an essential element of life, and is also one of the most abundant elements on earth. Carbon occupies a place in the second row of the periodic table, right above silicon.
A single carbon atom consists of 6 protons, 6 or 7 neutrons, and 6 electrons. A well-known example of carbon is the tip of pencils. The tip of pencils consists of graphite, which refers to a collection of carbon atoms, layers of carbon atoms. Each layer of the carbon atoms forms a honeycomb structure which is called graphene. Although scientists knew that graphene layers are the constituents for graphite, for years they were not sure whether a monolayer of graphene could be isolated in nature.
Until 2004, when two British physicists finally demonstrated that a single atomic layer of graphene can be isolated and stabilized in nature. These two physicists, Dr Novoselov and Dr Geim of Manchester University, not only demonstrated that graphene can be isolated and stabilized in nature, they also carried out detailed studies of the properties of graphene. They found that graphene exhibited very interesting and unique properties that could be promising for a wide range of applications. Therefore, their research ignited great excitement throughout the world.
So, what are the unique properties of graphene that makes it so special? Graphene, actually, is both electrically and thermally highly conductive, so electrons on graphene can move like massless particles ballistically across the surface of graphene without being scattered. Graphene is very thin and optically transparent, so light can penetrate through graphene without being reflected.
The edges of graphene also exhibit very interesting properties that can be functionalized for chemical applications. The tiny honeycomb structure of graphene can only allow electrons and protons to penetrate through, so, for this reason, graphene can be used for filtering of chemical elements.
Moreover, graphene is mechanically flexible and 200 times stronger than steel. You can imagine, with these unique properties, many applications become possible. For instance, the excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, combining with the optical transparency, make it possible for graphene to be applied to nanoelectronics in integrated circuits, to optoelectronic components like solar cells, light-emitting diodes, lasers and display panels.
The flexible and strong mechanical properties of graphene can be used for lightweight, high-strength materials applicable to things such as transportation vehicles, airplanes. The excellent chemical filtering capabilities of graphene makes it possible for graphene to be used in desalination, detoxification, chemical sensing, DNA sequencing and even delivery of medicine.
The edges of graphene are very interesting also. In fact, there are two distinctly different types of edges for graphene. One is called the armchair edges, the other is called the zigzag edges. The zigzag edges usually are chemically more reactive and so can be functionalized for all kinds of chemical applications. If you take a piece of graphene and cut it into small stripes, then you have graphene nanoribbons.
You can have either armchair or zigzag graphene nanoribbons. All of these nanoribbons have very large edge-to-area ratios, and so they can be very good, very effective, for charging and discharging. For this reason, graphene nanoribbons can be used in supercapacitors, batteries for energy storage. Despite all these wonderful properties of graphene, there are major challenges before we can fully realize the potential of graphene. In particular, we need to develop reliable large-scale production of graphene with high quality and low cost.
Currently, there are three typical ways of making graphene. The first one is called mechanical exfoliation from graphite. What it is, is actually involving the use of adhesive tapes, or a Scotch tape that you’re familiar with. You take a piece of Scotch tape, press it against graphite, and you peel it off. Then you get tiny flakes of graphite.