Liu Zhongfan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: Face up to the existing problems of my country's graphene industry

In 2004, professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester successfully separated graphene from graphite
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In 2010, the two won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their innovative research on graphene
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Since then, the research, application and investment of graphene have rapidly increased worldwide
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? As the thinnest carbon material known in the world with the highest strength, the best conductivity and strong flexibility, people are full of imagination about the application of graphene in new technical fields
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Giants such as Huawei, Samsung, Apple, and Google have begun to accumulate various graphene-related patents, and the battle for the future has begun in the laboratory
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? China has the largest graphene research team, the industrialization work is in full swing, and graphene industrial parks are being built across the country
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So, what is the current status of graphene industrialization in China? Where is the future of graphene materials? ? Professor Liu Zhongfan of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Peking University, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Developing Countries gave us the answer
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? 01 What is graphene? "Materials for Great Powers": Hello, Academician Liu.
Graphene is called "Black Gold" and is the "King of New Materials".
More scientists predict that graphene will "completely change the 21st century.
" Please introduce Academician Liu to this kind of graphene.
Magic material? ? Liu Zhongfan: Everyone knows graphite.
Graphene is only one word from graphene.
In fact, graphene is a single-layer graphite sheet
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Build up the single-layer graphite sheet until you can see that it is graphite
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The graphite is peeled off layer by layer, and the graphene is peeled to the end
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This is the relationship between graphite and graphene
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In short, graphene is a pure carbon material.
100% carbon material is a representative two-dimensional material.
Its shape is a two-dimensional plane composed of honeycomb and hexagonal carbon, which is graphene
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? "Materials for Great Powers": What are the superior properties of graphene materials and in which fields can they be used? ? Liu Zhongfan: First of all, graphene is very thin and very conductive
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Generally speaking, electrons can run very fast in graphene
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The excellent conductivity of graphene also determines that it is a very good conductive material
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? Secondly, the thermal conductivity of graphene is particularly good.
In theory, its thermal conductivity can reach 5300W/(m·K), while diamond is usually about 2000W/(m·K)
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The thermal conductivity of graphene is the best among materials known so far.
Using the thermal conductivity of graphene, it can be used as a heat dissipation film; at the same time, because of the special structure of graphene, it can be used as a heating film
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For example, graphene is used for painting in China.
This painting can be used for appreciation and heating
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In addition, because graphene has good electrical conductivity and a particularly large surface area, it is currently more common practice in China to put graphene into lithium-ion batteries as an additive
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The addition of graphene can significantly improve the performance, life and cycle times of lithium-ion batteries
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? It is worth mentioning that, because graphene with one layer and two layers is transparent, conductive and transparent, what do you think of? Can be used as touch screen, touch screen
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At present, ITO is generally used for touch screens in the market.
As a kind of glass, ITO cannot be broken back and forth, while the flexible nature of graphene determines that it can be broken back and forth
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"Materials for Great Powers": When did Academician Liu start to become involved in graphene? Can you briefly introduce the achievements the team has achieved so far? ? Liu Zhongfan: Actually, my original research was carbon materials, and my research direction was carbon nanotubes
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I started to make carbon nanotubes in 1998 and started to study graphene in 2008
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? In fact, graphene has many similarities with carbon nanotubes.
When a graphite sheet is rolled up, carbon nanotubes are formed.
When carbon nanotubes are separated and cut, graphene is formed
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Naturally, many people who study carbon nanotubes have turned to graphene, and I am one of them
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? When we were studying carbon nanotubes, we were good at chemical vapor growth, so when we were studying graphene, we naturally started with chemical vapor growth, that is, the preparation of graphene films
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? Our team has done a lot of work in the field of graphene film preparation.
It can be said that we are one of the teams that do the best in high-quality preparation of graphene
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02 Face up to the existing problems of graphene industrialization "Materials for Great Powers": As a new type of material, graphene has no relevant experience to learn from.
What problems have you and your team encountered when researching graphene, and how to solve them of? ? Liu Zhongfan: At present, it is claimed that the preparation of graphene films in China can reach one million square meters per year, but the quality of the prepared products is actually relatively poor
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From a simple measure, the larger the single crystal domain, the better the quality and the better the performance
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We have been trying to break through large single crystal films, but this means that we need to overcome numerous difficulties, think from a basic research and theoretical perspective, and then solve problems from an experimental and practical level
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? I think our biggest breakthrough is to unfold graphene onto glass.
We call it super graphene glass
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We can paste a layer of graphene on any glass (transparent or colored glass), we call it super graphene glass
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? Super graphene glass has many uses, and we even think it is possible to change the traditional glass industry
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For example, we all know that glass is insulated.
After a layer of graphene is placed, it becomes conductive; glass is not thermally conductive.
After a layer of graphene is placed, heat conduction is strengthened; and one or two layers of graphene are attached.
It will not affect the transparency of glass, but the essence of glass has completely changed.
We can use graphene glass to make touch screens and smart windows
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? In addition, super graphene glass can also be used in the automotive field.
We see that there are many lines behind high-end automotive glass.
These lines are actually conductive wires
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If graphene glass is used, these conductive wires are not needed because the glass itself is conductive
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After the voltage is applied, there is no need to stick the film, it can defrost and defog, and can be flexibly adjusted to dark or light color
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? This is a technology invented by our team, but there are still many difficulties in it, such as large-scale production and expansion of production capacity, but we are full of expectations for it and believe that graphene glass will become a famous brand
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? 03 Where is the future of graphene? "Materials for Great Powers": At present, graphene is being vigorously developed around the world.
How is the development of China's graphene industry? ? Liu Zhongfan: China is at the forefront of the world in the field of graphene industrialization
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This can clearly that our countries have now built or under construction seventeen, eight graphene industrial park, including Changzhou, Wuxi, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Qingdao, Harbin and so on
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National policies and governments at all levels are vigorously promoting the industrialization of graphene
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? Relatively speaking, we pay more attention to graphene products, while countries such as Europe and the United States are more promoting graphene technology.
In fact, this is only at a different stage
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We generally divide it into three stages: A, B, and C.
The initial stage is the product, the middle stage is the technology, and the final stage is definitely industrialization
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? At present, I think our country pays more attention to the product itself.
Technology research and development requires a lot of investment and patience
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At this point, we are also appealing to all departments of the country to make overall arrangements
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In terms of first-mover advantage, China's graphene industrialization is at the forefront, but the long-term advantage in the later period depends on what we pay attention to.
I think this layout is particularly important
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Pay attention not only to the present, but also to the technology of the future and the greater industry
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? "Materials for Great Powers": In which areas do you think graphene is most likely to be the first to achieve large-scale applications in the future? ? Liu Zhongfan: I have designed three futures for graphene:? The first future is equivalent to carbon fiber
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Everyone knows that carbon fiber can be used in aerospace, large airplanes and airplane engines, as well as low-end fields such as fishing rods, golf clubs, and bicycles
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I believe that graphene will at least play its advantages in various industries like carbon fiber
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? The second future of graphene is equivalent to plastic
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We all know that plastics have been applied to all aspects of our lives, and graphene will also have this possibility in the future
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Because now many products have begun to add graphene, including domestic graphene underwear, graphene socks and so on
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? The third kind of future is relatively high-end, such as silicon materials and silicon chips
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Silicon is a material synonymous with an era, just like the Stone Age and Bronze Age in history.
Silicon materials have changed our spiritual life.
Without silicon, there would be no mobile phones or computers
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In the future, graphene may also become synonymous with an era.
In the future, it may replace silicon and be applied in fields such as integrated circuits.
It is faster, lighter, foldable, and wearable
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The above are the three futures of graphene that I can imagine.
No matter what kind of future is realized, it will have a very big impact on our national economy and daily life
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