Scientists 3D-print graphene foam, a first
June 21 (UPI) -- A team of researchers from Texas and China have managed to create graphene foam using a 3D printer. The production method could eventually yield commercial quantities of the material.Graphene's benefits have been well-documented by material scientists. The atomically thin carbon sheets are exceptionally strong, flexible and conductive. But producing graphene in bulk has proven difficult, limiting its potential use in commercial technologies -- whether they be medical implants or smartphones.Scientists at Rice University and China's Tianjin University, however, have found a way to turn nongraphene starting materials into graphene foam using a 3D printer. Researchers detailed their breakthrough in the journal journal ACS Nano."This study is a first of its kind," Rice chemist...