Graphene adds cooling electronics to awesome capabilities
A newly discovered technique that increases the heat-conducting capacity of graphene could lead to an efficient way to cool down electronic devices, prolong their life, and reduce energy usage.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have found an efficient way to use a graphene-based film for cooling electronics. The innovation could prolong the lifespan of electronic devices and reduce energy usage, a university statement said.
Graphene—a one-atom-thick layer of pure carbon held together in a hexagonal lattice formation—has been shown to be the lightest, strongest, most versatile material around. It is also the best conductor of electricity known, according to one graphene expert.
Graphene combined with spider silk is 200 times stronger than steel—so strong it could catch a plane falling from the sky, as reported by Science Recorder in May. Because graphene is impermeable to gases and liquids but lets protons easily pass through it, it holds promise for use in hydrogen fuel cells, according to Andre Geim of Manchester University, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize along with fellow researchers for the discovery of graphene.
Now, in a new study published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the Chalmers researchers describe their method of creating strong covalent bonds between the graphene film and the silicon surface of an electronic component.
While lead researcher Johan Liu first showed that graphene can act to cool down silicon-based electronics a couple of years ago, a big problem in implementation remained, he said in the statement. The difficulty: getting graphene layers to adhere to the surface of electronic devices.
“We have now solved this problem by managing to create strong covalent bonds between the graphene film and the surface, which is an electronic component made of silicon,” Liu said.
Liu and his colleagues created the stronger bonds by adding certain property-altering molecules that, when heated and subjected to hydrolysis, create silane bonds, which act as an adhesive. This process results in ‘functionalization’ of the graphene that, using silane coupling, doubles its ability to conduct heat.
The heat-conducting capacity of graphene could lead to a number of new applications for this wonder material. For example, graphene-based film could be integrated into small electronic devices and systems, “such as highly efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), lasers, and radio frequency components for cooling purposes,” says Liu.
Liu adds that the new graphene-based film “could also pave the way for faster, smaller, more energy efficient, sustainable high power electronics.”
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