Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Graphene grows – and we can see it

Pieces of a graphene lattice made from patchy particles. Because the particles can be followed one-by-one, defects can be studied at the particle scale. Image: Swinkels et al.

CREDIT
Swinkels et al
Pieces of a graphene lattice made from patchy particles. Because the particles can be followed one-by-one, defects can be studied at the particle scale. Image: Swinkels et al. CREDIT Swinkels et al

Abstract:
Graphene is the strongest of all materials. On top of that, it is exceptionally good at conducting heat and electrical currents, making it one of the most special and versatile materials we know. For all these reasons, the discovery of graphene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Yet, many properties of the material and its cousins are still poorly understood – for the simple reason that the atoms they are made up of are very difficult to observe. A team of researchers from the University of Amsterdam and New York University have now found a surprising way to solve this issue.

Graphene grows – and we can see it

Amsterdam, Netherlands | Posted on March 24th, 2023

Two-dimensional materials, consisting of a hyper-thin single layer of atomic crystal, have attracted a lot of attention recently. This well-deserved attention is mainly due to their unusual properties, very different from their three-dimensional ‘bulk’ counterparts. Graphene, the most famous representative, and many other two-dimensional materials, are nowadays researched intensely in the laboratory. Perhaps surprisingly, crucial to the special properties of these materials are defects, locations where the crystal structure is not perfect. There, the ordered arrangement of the layer of atoms is disturbed and the coordination of atoms changes locally.

Visualizing atoms
Despite the fact that defects have been shown to be crucial for a material’s properties, and they are almost always either present or added on purpose, not much is known about how they form and how they evolve in time. The reason for this is simple: atoms are just too small and move too fast to directly follow them.

In an effort to make the defects in graphene-like materials observable, the team of researchers, from the UvA-Institute of Physics and New York University, found a way to build micrometre-size models of atomic graphene. To achieve this, they used so-called 'patchy particles’. These particles – large enough to be easily visible in a microscope, yet small enough to reproduce many of the properties of actual atoms – interact with the same coordination as atoms in graphene, and form the same structure. The researchers built a model system and used it to obtain insight into defects, their formation and evolution with time. Their results were published in Nature Communications this week.

Building graphene
Graphene is made up of carbon atoms that each have three neighbours, arranged in the well-known ‘honeycomb’ structure. It is this special structure that lends graphene its unique mechanical and electronic properties. To achieve the same structure in their model, the researchers used tiny particles made of polystyrene, decorated with three even tinier patches of a material known as 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl – or TPM for short. The configuration of the TPM patches mimicked the coordination of carbon atoms in the graphene lattice. The researchers then made the patches attractive so that the particles could form bonds with each other, again in analogy with the carbon atoms in graphene.

After being left alone for a few hours, when observed under a microscope the ‘mock carbon’ particles turned out to indeed arrange themselves into a honeycomb lattice. The researchers then looked in more detail at defects in the model graphene lattice. They observed that also in this respect the model worked: it showed characteristic defect motifs that are also known from atomic graphene. Contrary to real graphene, the direct observation and long formation time of the model now allowed the physicists to follow these defects from the very start of their formation, up to the integration into the lattice.

Unexpected results
The new look at the growth of graphene-like materials immediately led to new knowledge about these two-dimensional structures. Unexpectedly, the researchers found that the most common type of defect already forms in the very initial stages of growth, when the lattice is not yet established. They also observed how the lattice mismatch is then ‘repaired’ by another defect, leading to a stable defect configuration, which either remains or only very slowly heals further to a more perfect lattice.

Thus, the model system not only allows to rebuild the graphene lattice on a larger scale for all sorts of applications, but the direct observations also allow insights into atomic dynamics in this class of materials. As defects are central to the properties of all atomically thin materials, these direct observations in model systems help further engineer the atomic counterparts, for example for applications in ultra-lightweight materials and optical and electronic devices.

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Laura Erdtsieck
Universiteit van Amsterdam

Office: 0031-205-252-695

Copyright © Universiteit van Amsterdam

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

ARTICLE TITLE

Related News Press

News and information

INRS and ELI deepen strategic partnership to train the next generation in laser science:PhD students will benefit from international mobility and privileged access to cutting-edge infrastructure June 6th, 2025

Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025

Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Self-propelled protein-based nanomotors for enhanced cancer therapy by inducing ferroptosis June 6th, 2025

Graphene/ Graphite

Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025

2 Dimensional Materials

Closing the gaps — MXene-coating filters can enhance performance and reusability February 28th, 2025

New 2D multifractal tools delve into Pollock's expressionism January 17th, 2025

Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025

FSU researchers develop new methods to generate and improve magnetism of 2D materials December 13th, 2024

Possible Futures

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers several steps closer to harnessing patient's own T-cells to fight off cancer June 6th, 2025

Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025

Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Chip Technology

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Discoveries

Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025

Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025

Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025

Superconductors: Amazingly orderly disorder: A surprising effect was discovered through a collaborative effort by researchers from TU Wien and institutions in Croatia, France, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, and the US during the investigation of a special material: the atoms are May 14th, 2025

Announcements

INRS and ELI deepen strategic partnership to train the next generation in laser science:PhD students will benefit from international mobility and privileged access to cutting-edge infrastructure June 6th, 2025

Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025

Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025

Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025

Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025

A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project