Graphene has remarkable electronic properties, but using these atom-thin sheets of carbon in devices remains challenging, and attempts to build graphene macrostructures have yielded materials with low conductivity. Hui-Ming Cheng and his co-workers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang now report a three-dimensional, conductive all-graphene macrostructure they call a graphene foam.
The researchers deposited graphene on a template made from a porous nickel foam. After removing the nickel, they were left with a structure made of a three-dimensional network of interconnected graphene channels (micrograph pictured). Combined with a silicon-based polymeric matrix, the foam forms a composite that retains the high conductivity and flexibility of the two components, making this a promising material for flexible and large-scale electronic applications.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fabricating a graphene foam. Nature 472, 138 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/472138c
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/472138c