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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday January 31 2017, @08:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the mythbusters-approach-to-results dept.

Forget chemicals, catalysts and expensive machinery — a Kansas State University team of physicists has discovered a way to mass-produce graphene with three ingredients: hydrocarbon gas, oxygen and a spark plug.

Their method is simple: Fill a chamber with acetylene or ethylene gas and oxygen. Use a vehicle spark plug to create a contained detonation. Collect the graphene that forms afterward.

Chris Sorensen, Cortelyou-Rust university distinguished professor of physics, is the lead inventor of the recently issued patent, "Process for high-yield production of graphene via detonation of carbon-containing material". Other Kansas State University researchers involved include Arjun Nepal, postdoctoral researcher and instructor of physics, and Gajendra Prasad Singh, former visiting scientist.

"We have discovered a viable process to make graphene," Sorensen said. "Our process has many positive properties, from the economic feasibility, the possibility for large-scale production and the lack of nasty chemicals. What might be the best property of all is that the energy required to make a gram of graphene through our process is much less than other processes because all it takes is a single spark."


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by VanderDecken on Tuesday January 31 2017, @10:05PM

    by VanderDecken (5216) on Tuesday January 31 2017, @10:05PM (#461452)

    ... is the entertainment value.

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    The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
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