Home > Press > Graphene's piezoelectric promise
Abstract:
Graphene, the ultra-durable carbon material that holds promise for a range of applications, has yet another trick up its single-atom-thick sleeve. Engineers at the University of Houston have used quantum mechanical calculations to show that, merely by creating holes of a certain configuration in a sheet of graphene, they can coax graphene into behaving like a piezoelectric material. Piezoelectric substances generate electricity in response to physical pressure, and vice versa, and scientists can use these materials for applications such as energy harvesting and artificial muscles, as well as to make precise sensors. Graphene itself is not naturally piezoelectric. But the Houston engineers reasoned that if they took either a semiconducting or insulator form of graphene, punched triangle-shaped holes into it, and applied a uniform pressure to the material, they could make that material act as though it were piezoelectric.
Graphene's piezoelectric promise
College Park, MD | Posted on January 5th, 2012The team's calculations showed that triangular holes did indeed result in piezoelectric behavior, while circular holes - as they predicted - did not. They also found that graphene's pseudo-piezoelectricity was almost as strong as that of well-known piezoelectric substances such as quartz. The authors suggest that triangular pores could be created in real graphene using electron-beam radiation in a lab, which means these calculations can be tested using existing methods. "Nature has dealt humankind … a very limited choice of effective electromechanical materials" that exhibit piezoelectricity, write the authors in their paper, accepted to the AIP's Applied Physics Letters. Adding graphene to the list "could potentially open new avenues" of use, both for graphene and for applications that rely on piezoelectricity.
Article: "Coaxing graphene to be piezoelectric" is accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters.
Authors: Swapnil Chandratre (1) and Pradeep Sharma (1, 2).
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Texas (2) Department of Physics, University of Houston, Texas
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Jennifer Lauren Lee
301-209-3099
Copyright © American Institute of Physics
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:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024
Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Graphene/ Graphite
Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024
NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024
Sensors
Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024
Discoveries
Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Announcements
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics/Thermoelectrics/Energy storage
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||