From the transparent film that can repel mosquitoes to the small ball that can improve the safety of batteries, the magic material graphene can be used in various forms for various purposes. What makes scientists particularly excited is the nanoribbons used for energy storage and calculation, but the production of these ultra-thin graphene strips has proved to be a difficult task. However, some scientists have claimed that they have made breakthrough progress in this field. They have invented a method for the first time to directly produce graphene nanoribbons on the surface of semiconductors.
Unlike graphene-made honeycomb carbon atoms, graphene nanoribbons consist of thin strips that are only a few atoms wide. This material has great potential, it can be used as a cheaper and smaller substitute for silicon transistors-it runs faster, consumes less power, or serves as the electrode of the battery-it can be charged in only 5 minutes it is good.
Professor Konstantin Amsharov, a chemist from Martin Luther Halle Wittenberg University (MLU) in Germany-and the author of the paper on this study-said: "This is why many research groups from all over the world are committed to Research on graphene nanoribbons."
Right now, the production of graphene ribbons is generally synthesized on the surface of gold, but we know that gold is not only expensive but also an electrical conductor, which will erase the properties of nanoribbons, which has also become a reason for its very limited use outside the laboratory . At the same time, it also means that the transfer of the nanoribbon to another surface requires very careful, and it is not easy.
But now Amsharov has collaborated with researchers from Germany, the United States and Poland to develop a simpler method of producing graphene nanoribbons by splicing individual atoms.
"Our new method allows us to fully control how graphene nanoribbons are assembled," Amsharov said. "This process is technically meaningful because it can also be used at an industrial level. It is also more than the previous process. Cost-effectiveness."
The team said that this new ability to produce customizable graphene nanoribbons directly on semiconductor surfaces does not require metal surfaces to neutralize them, which will open up some exciting possibilities. It will not only be used for applications including data storage, but also become an efficient semiconductor for advanced electronic equipment including quantum computers.