In this video we explore the recently discovered process for creating flash graphene: the first economical method to make high quality turbostratic graphene in bulk. Using this method it's possible to convert nearly any carbon source (recycled materials, coal, carbon black, etc.) directly into graphene.
This was discovered by a graduate student, Duy Loung of Rice labs, as detailed in this article (videos of the process are contained within): http://news.rice.edu/2020/01/27/rice-lab-turns-trash-into-valuable-graphene-in-a-flash-2/
The first Flash Graphene article as published in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1938-0
An updated article detailing Flash Graphene morphologies: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c05900?ref=pdf
As a result of these discoveries Dr. James Tour (the lead chemist at Rice labs), and his team have founded the company Universal Matter Inc. in their endeavor to scale and automate the flash graphene process for commercial production. In only a few months they have multiplied their methods to produce 6 grams with each 30-100ms discharge of 24 high voltage capacitors, in a scalable model that may produce as much as 1 ton per day. Company website: https://www.universalmatter.com/
Here are two excellent videos demonstrating the electrochemical exfoliation method for producing graphene in bulk:
The Thought Emporium: https://youtu.be/s51l6KySFU8
Robert Murray-Smith: https://youtu.be/hFUOsZ0LSkQ
Thank you very much to all of my Patreon supporters who have contributed to help me create videos like this one. A special thanks to my top Patrons: Enzo Breda Lee, Jon Hartmann, TheBackyardScientist & Eugene Pakhomov! https://www.patreon.com/NightHawkProjects
-Ben