A team of researchers with Johns Hopkins University and MIT has found a way to cause flat sheets of graphene to self-fold into 3-D geometric shapes. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the group explains how they prepared the sheets and then used heat to cause them to fold.
Graphene has been in the news a lot over the past decade, as its unique properties could lead to the development of a host of new applications. Some likely applications include biosensors and wearable electronics. Before such devices can be created, however, a means must be found to create three dimensional objects from flat sheets of the material. Up until now, most methods have involved etching or applying the sheets to a substrate that conforms to a desired shape. Both methods leave much to be desired; thus, researchers continue to seek a better solution. In this new effort, researchers have developed a micropatterning technique that leads to the flat graphene sheets bending along predesignated lines when heat is applied, causing the sheet to form into shapes—much like origami forms when manipulated by human hands.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-10-graphene-self-fold-d.html#jCp
A team of researchers with Johns Hopkins University and MIT has found a way to cause flat sheets of graphene to self-fold into 3-D geometric shapes. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the group explains how they prepared the sheets and then used heat to cause them to fold.
Graphene has been in the news a lot over the past decade, as its unique properties could lead to the development of a host of new applications. Some likely applications include biosensors and wearable electronics. Before such devices can be created, however, a means must be found to createthree dimensional objects from flat sheets of the material. Up until now, most methods have involved etching or applying the sheets to a substrate that conforms to a desired shape. Both methods leave much to be desired; thus, researchers continue to seek a better solution. In this new effort, researchers have developed a micropatterning technique that leads to the flat graphene sheets bending along predesignated lines when heat is applied, causing the sheet to form into shapes—much like origami forms when manipulated by human hands.