MIT Discovers Way To Mass-Produce Graphene In Large Sheets (inhabitat.com)

New submitter Paige.Bennett writes: Up till now, graphene has been produced in small batches in labs. But MIT just found a way to mass-produce graphene in large sheets using a process that rolls out five centimeters of graphene each minute. The longest span so far was nearly four hours, which produced about 10 meters of graphene. According to MIT, here's how their conveyor belt system works: "The first spool unfurls a long strip of copper foil, less than one centimeter wide. When it enters the furnace, the foil is fed through first one tube and then another, in a 'split-zone' design. While the foil rolls through the first tube, it heats up to a certain ideal temperature, at which point it is ready to roll through the second tube, where the scientists pump in a specified ratio of methane and hydrogen gas, which are deposited onto the heated foil to produce graphene." The work has been published in the journal Materials and Interfaces.

Comments

Re: Rip VanWinkle called

[iggymanz]

You can call either the ceramic AION(tm) which is used for bullet and blast resistant windows transparent aluminum, or clear synthetic sapphire which is even stronger than the AION if made by certain processes ( not the artificial gem processes though, they have high internal strain). That sapphire can be 17% stronger than the AION though I haven't seen windows of the stuff only huge balls

Re:Rip VanWinkle called

[angel'o'sphere]

There is no transparent Aluminium.

Transparent aluminum, also known as aluminIum oxynitride, is a transparent polycrystalline ceramic with a cubic spinel crystal structure made of nitrogen, oxygen and aluminIum.

I guess you can use every low atom wight metal to make a 'glass' ...