Graphene: Subversive shocks wave after wave

One of the discoverers of graphene, 2010 Nobel Prize winner in physics, Andre Heim, described graphene: it can be stretched infinitely, bent to a large angle without breaking, resisting a lot of pressure, and Unusual thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. As a result, graphene is recognized as “a radical change in the 21st century”, and researchers around the world are trying their best to apply it to microelectronics, energy materials, biomedicine, aerospace and environmental protection. Graphene is making waves of deep and subversive deep shocks around the world.

Concussion 1: Inciting traditional industry standards

One of the magical aspects of graphene is that although the theoretical thickness is about 0.3 nm, it can achieve "zero penetration", which can almost isolate water, oxygen, and sodium ions. In addition, graphene itself has hydrophobicity and oiliness, and its sheet structure has a "maze" effect, which can hinder the penetration of water, corrosive ions and the like into the metal substrate, thereby exerting a long-lasting antiseptic effect.

On January 3, 2015, the first offshore wind tower coated with graphene anti-corrosion coating became a milestone in the world's marine heavy-duty anti-corrosion field. The primer heavy anti-corrosion test time exceeded 2,500 hours, which was about 3 times higher than the US standard. It can be said that the standard of traditional anti-corrosion coatings has been shaken. In the past, the key indicators in heavy-duty anti-corrosion systems must contain 70%-80% of zinc powder, while in graphene heavy-duty anti-corrosion coatings, 20% zinc (or even zero) can be used. 1% graphene instead. From the actual effect, adding about 5% of graphene powder can reduce the use of zinc powder by 50%, saving materials and environmental protection. The subsequent series of graphene heavy-duty coatings will be extended to offshore platforms, marine vessels, oilfield downhole columns and oil pipelines and containers, forming a multi-billion-dollar industrial chain.

Not only that, graphene is also showing its edge in digital circuits. In 2014, IBM tested the world's first multi-frequency graphene RF receiver and graphene integrated circuit, which nearly 10,000 times better performance than the previous generation. In December, the Italian partner CNR-ISOF of the Graphene flagship program showed that graphene can be used to produce fully flexible Near Field Communication (NFC) antennas.

It can be seen that graphene is igniting the standards of traditional industries and opening up new and promising applications. Who will be next? Perhaps it is a heat sink material, a lithium battery, a super capacitor...

Shock 2: Promoting the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry

In the 1990s, developed countries used information technology to drive manufacturing upgrades to improve the international competitiveness of the industry. With the injection of traditional materials and the development of preparation processes, graphene also brings opportunities for transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industries in developing countries.

Single-layer graphene has unique electronic structure and electrical, thermal and mechanical properties, and is expected to be an ideal material for future precision information devices. The direct writing, cutting or preparation of various nano-patterns and functional devices on single-layer graphene oxide is considered to be one of the most challenging topics in the field of graphene research.

Because it requires a special console and precise process, even if the laboratory can do it, to achieve large-scale preparation, it requires batch nano-scale precision equipment, such as operating instruments prepared under the existing manufacturing standards. Wearing boxing gloves to get small screws can be very laborious and inefficient. This requires a significant upgrade of the precision level of the manufacturing industry.

Graphene is a big player in the field of composite materials, and the demand is huge. The use of graphene in composite materials can increase the electrical conductivity and strength of the material while providing flexibility. The use of graphene composite materials in various engineering materials can promote the transformation of the overall manufacturing industry.

North America has prompted many graphene manufacturers to collaborate with universities and research institutes to expand and meet the demand for graphene composites, and to use the development of graphene to drive the US manufacturing industry, making it the main driving force for local economic growth.

Some Chinese experts said that the development of graphene products and even the entire industry is in line with China's current industrial development trends and supply-side structural reform strategies. The realization of industrialized mass production of graphene products will certainly promote the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, from the low-end to the middle and high-end in the international industrial division of labor.

Concussion 3: Enhance policy integration mechanism

At present, many countries in the world have made graphene a strategic emerging material, and they all want to be among the top trends in graphene development, and will play an important role in assisting industrial development from national policies, depending on the integration of policy mechanisms. And flexible ability to accept new things, new ideas, new technology replacement capabilities.

From the perspective of international experience, the mechanism for accelerating the promotion of policy integration should mainly be made in the following aspects: First, the top-level design of national-level industrial development planning, as early as possible to determine the technical route and industrialization of the graphene industry, to clarify the stage objectives and priorities of industrial development. Tasks, major projects, funding sources and policy measures.

Second, build a sound upper, middle and lower chain to promote industrial development. The biggest bottleneck in the graphene industry is that it does not form a complete and mature industrial chain. The R&D and manufacturing enterprises and the downstream application enterprises are out of touch, and the market demand has not yet fully opened. Therefore, it is necessary to determine a reasonable organizational framework in the mechanism, promote the parallel development of materials, equipment, processes and applications, and coordinate the development of the entire chain.

Third, the co-ordination of funds at the national level is used in the “knife” (key project), instead of sprinkling pepper, and everything is invested. Just like the EU’s graphene flagship plan, hundreds of billions of funds have been invested in conductive inks and thin film technology. The most promising technology development such as pressure sensors.

Andrei Heim, who is known as the father of graphene, recently pointed out that there is a big gap between academic research and industrialization. The government can “bridge” in it. When the gap is too large, the bridge will Long enough. The government invested funds to build a bridge in the middle to support a bridge. One end of the bridge is academic research, and the other side is the real industrialization of graphene.

Ferro Silicon