A "supersonic" spray could deposit a repairing layer of graphene on a range of substrates; the method could be used to fix manufacturing defects.
Graphene is a fantastic material that is composed of a single layer of carbon atom. It is super-strong, transparent, and has the ability to conduct electricity, a University of Illinois at Chicago news release reported.
The material could be used for applications such as "lending electrical properties to plastics; creating denser and faster integrated circuits; and building better touch screens," the news release reported.
Researchers believe their new graphene-application method could help reduce defects.
"Normally, graphene is produced in small flakes, and even these small flakes have defects," Alexander Yarin, UIC professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and co-principal investigator on the study said in the news release.
This new method could form a more consistent layer without "clumps or spaces."
The spray deposition system will use supersonic acceleration to push the droplets through a Laval nozzle. The method has only been tested using other materials at this point, but the researchers believe it would be an effective method of graphene application.
The system would "disperse [the droplets] evenly, evaporate rapidly, and reduce the tendency of the graphene flakes to aggregate," the news release reported.
The researchers believe the energy of the impact will stretch the graphene and influence its carbon atoms to arrange into the perfect hexagons characteristic of the material.
"Imagine something like Silly Putty hitting a wall - it stretches out and spreads smoothly," Yarin said. "That's what we believe happens with these graphene flakes. They hit with enormous kinetic energy, and stretch in all directions."
We're tapping into graphene's plasticity - it's actually restructuring," he said.
This new method will allow graphene to "heal" itself and is "simple, inexpensive, and can be performed on any substrate with no need for post-treatment," the news release reported.
