A research group led by Associate Professor Yuta Nishina of Okayama University has developed a method for synthesizing a large amount of graphene oxide from graphite.Graphite is made up of stacked sheets of carbon atoms, and graphene is made by peeling off only one layer of this sheet. When discovered in 1, it has attracted attention as a material that opens up various advanced technologies due to its robustness, low electrical resistance, magnetism, catalytic ability, and so on.Furthermore, it is expected that various atoms will be mixed as impurities and various substances will be bonded to the surface of the sheet, resulting in various variations and expanding the range of applications.While research on the use of such graphene-related substances is being carried out very actively, research on production technology is also being promoted.

Among the variations of graphene, the most studied is graphene oxide, a substance in which oxygen and other substances are bound to the surface.It is said that it can be used as a material for electrodes and sensors in electronic components.Even if these technologies are established, it is necessary to mass-produce products of stable quality in order to actually use them.With the conventional method of synthesizing graphene oxide, the limit is to make about 100 g at a time.The new method is to add an oxidizing agent to graphite in sulfuric acid and heat it.By adjusting the timing and amount of oxidant added, we succeeded in making graphene oxide of 500 g or more.

In advanced technology research, there are many studies that can be achieved by obtaining valuable materials at a high price.However, even if the technology itself is established by the research, whether or not it will spread to the world depends on how cheap, large quantities, and stable quality can be supplied.In the future, we will continue to improve with the aim of further mass synthesis, aiming for synthesis in kilogram units.

Source:[Okayama University] Succeeded in mass synthesis of graphene oxide 5 times as much as before

Okayama University

Promote the creation of an environment and system that can fly as a practitioner who can play an active role globally

A national university with 150 faculties, 10 graduate schools, and 7 research institutes, which is about 4 years old.Based on the results of advanced research activities, we can cultivate the ability of students to participate in "creation of knowledge" independently, and foster a rich humanity through close dialogues and discussions between students and faculty members. In a wide range of fields both domestically and internationally […]

University Journal Online Editorial Department

This is the online editorial department of the university journal.
Articles are written by editorial staff who have a high level of knowledge and interest in universities and education.