Newly discovered property of graphene will allow to make fuel from thin air

Graphene the bane of my existence the wonderful material have a new property that will make fuel cell even more interesting (good timing with toyota). Impermeable to pretty much all gases and liquids, can easily allow protons to pass through it.

Boom! a molecular sieve so far selective only to protons (hydrogen) would allow to take hydrogen from air and remove the rest of gases, fuel for thin air.

A completely unexpected result from the same guy that first isolated graphene in 2004 and won a nobel for it.

Proton transport through one-atom-thick crystals

The latest study was led by Prof. Andre Geim from Manchester University and Prof. Wu Hengan from the University of Science and Technology of China.

The team tested whether protons were also repelled by grapheme, expecting they would be blocked. However, researchers found that protons passed through the ultra-thin crystals surprisingly easily, especially at elevated temperatures and if the films were covered with catalytic nanoparticles such as platinum.

The discovery makes graphene an attractive possibility for use as a proton-conducting membrane, which is at the heart of modern fuel cell technology.

Study finds graphene potentially useful in fuel cell technology

a reply to: Indigent

Graphene is amazing.

I've been trying to find ways to safely invest in it (through graphite), but that's been very challenging to find a reputable investment vehicle that is safe.

Few people realize that this substance could change and possibly save the entire planet.

Graphene is made from graphite, which is made from carbon, which is one of the most abundant substances we have. I would expect that graphene will become more valuable than neodymium and other rare earth metals, and that it will eventually take over as the foundation for all computer processors that exist today.

This latest discovery just adds fuel to the fire. What puzzles me is how locked up the graphene market has been for years...

S&F

~Namaste

a reply to: SonOfTheLawOfOne

Graphene is wonderful but only when is a perfect single layer crystal, pretty much impossible to get outside the lab in applications scales. small defect makes a huge difference in properties.

For example this property could only be observed in perfect single layer crystals, 2 layer crystals had too much electron density and did not allow the transit of protons.

Some day people will figure out how to make infinite single layer (or at least inch scale ) crystals, them graphene will be huge.

a reply to: Indigent

If only this could actually come into practical technologies! Finally, a solution to fossil energy and pollution.

Amazing find, S&F!

originally posted by: SonOfTheLawOfOne
a reply to: Indigent

Graphene is amazing.

I've been trying to find ways to safely invest in it (through graphite), but that's been very challenging to find a reputable investment vehicle that is safe.


~Namaste

Have you not been looking into Seirra Wireless? They've been on a tear since summer.

One of the defense companies or GE perhaps has the graphene nano filters.

Tesla is building the nations largest battery plant in Nevada and I hear BMW will be teaming up.

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: Indigent

If only this could actually come into practical technologies! Finally, a solution to fossil energy and pollution.

Amazing find, S&F!

The graphene water filters can filter something like 800% more water with a .10th of the energy output. (May be exaggerating a bit, on IPad too cumber some to research right now)

a reply to: Rosinitiate

The thing is graphene is used as a really broad therm, for example the water filters are not made from graphene, they are made from graphene oxide, similar but completely different.

For some people even thing graphite is graphene, for some applications this is not much different but in electronic properties its really really different.

"Impenetrable even for hydrogen"?! That would be a perfect material for the yet unsolved problem of storing hydrogen for fuel cells!...

Get lost, dirty old metal sponges, trying to suck up the elusive hydrogen molecules!

Now we just have to find a way to create those graphene monolayers (Indigent, I am looking in your direction!), then, another problem with the pratical use of those pesky fuel cells will be solved!

a reply to: SonOfTheLawOfOne

The graphene market has been "locked up" because no one had figured out a way to produce it in large quantities yet.

The same was the case for aluminium. It used to be more expensive than gold, then someone figured out a way to mass produce it. Now it's everywhere.

They're building a production plant for graphene down the road from me in Manchester.
It's part of the university of Manchester and UMIST campus.

So hopefully we will be seeing full production of graphene products in the next few years.

a reply to: Indigent
Why make a car that runs out off fuel made from thin air.
When we have had the tech to make cars that run on compressed air?

www.youtube.com...

We have had the tech of compressed air engines for decades even longer in fact.
but petro chemicals companys are scared off it.
As the guy say use wind turbines to power the air compreeers and the foot print is zero.
The polllotion is also zero.

a reply to: ecossiepossie

Peugeot are bringing out a compressed hybrid. Oil isn't the only industry looking to make money. Car manufacturers don't give a f# what fuel source they use, so long as people buy them.

a reply to: Indigent

That's awesome. I remember reading about graphene studies and how power lines will get replaced with the new material. This is a truly awesome substance. I wonder what other uses they'll find for it.

graphene is aslo two times better than kevlar and 17 times better than steel for stopping bullets.

www.rsc.org...

so imagine a layered composite or just stacked graphene as the shielding for fast spaceships. sure space borne impact hazards travel typically at much much much faster speeds than a bullet but still if you pile up enough of it it should work.

plus on the OP yeah you could make a molecular sieve out of it for energy production out of air. but this would with modification be useful for life support and other stuff. imagine the first layer unmodified taking out hydrogen. and the next layer modified to have holes large enough to pass the next largest atom and the next having bigger holes for the next atom and so forth. you could capture any gas or really any element and store the useful ones.

you could break down CO, CO2 and other waste or contaminant gases via some reduction process heating or otherwise and keep your life support air recycling until losses and leaks requires occasional releases from reserved tanks. you know that basic biological and chemical processes do render some atmospheric gases unavailable to the system irretrievably. additionally there will be losses due to leaks and out the airlock during EVA. there is no such thing as a completely closed cycle life support system for humans in space. you need reserves or in SITU replenishment.

But a molecular sieve would eliminate all the other losses and extend the endurance of any life support system.

Graphene is amazing, I've been told it's been in existence and experimented with in the black world for many, many decades. It's interesting that now so many 'discoveries' are being made with it so quickly. It would almost appear as if these properties of graphene were already known and being leaked to mainstream scientists.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
It would almost appear as if these properties of graphene were already known and being leaked to mainstream scientists.

Almost, as in "not even remotely accurate". It's a busy and exciting field of research. What exactly do you expect?

another use could be mining and refining mineral resources or elemental resources because you could mine gas too. like helium and hydrogen. but if you broke ores down into a plasma you could pass the plasma through the sieve and extract any element you wanted and the element you wanted (gold for example) and the end product would be 100 percent pure.

come to think of it this would greatly simplify my little scheme to create a planet with nanobots. the little buggers could use this to do their mining, processing, self replication and even refueling themselves to travel from the kuiper and asteroid belts to the construction site.

a reply to: GetHyped

I seriously doubt though that a hunk of graphite, a blender and some scotch tape really revolutionized the graphene field all of a sudden.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

nah, you got no idea the amount of man power and $$ graphene research got in the last 6 years, and more since the nobel.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

And that's one of the reasons why you don't have a Nobel prize.