Thai researchers set new record
Thai researchers have set a new record by being the first team in the world to synthesise its own proprietary formula graphene polymer conductive ink for use in sensors and displays, which will help to attract foreign investment in upstream technology.
Adisorn Tuantranont.
Adisorn Tuantranont, Director of Nanoelectronics and MEMS laboratory at the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec), said after spending six months on research and development, his research team is the first in the world to achieve success in building its own proprietary formula to synthesise graphene polymer conductive ink by using the electrolytic exfoliation method.
Graphene is the basic building block for other carbon nanomaterials such as 0D buckball, 1D carbon nanotubes and 2D graphite. And it has several advantages such as providing large 2D electrical conductivity, a large surface area, high elasticity, high thermal conductivity and transparency as well as tunable bandgap.
It also has high mechanical strength, being almost 200 times stronger than steel and, more importantly, it is based on graphite, which is commercially available at a low cost. Combined with its electrolytic exfoliation prepared method, this makes it more stable in aqueous solutions, easily increased for large-scale prod! uction a t low cost.
Other preparation methods like micromechanical cleavage, epitaxial growth via ultra-high vacuum graphitation, chemical synthesis through oxidation of graphite, chemical vapour deposition and solvothermal synthesis take more time and require costly specialised equipment.
Currently awaiting a patent, the graphene polymer conductive ink is an important milestone for Thailand's electronic and energy industries because grapheme-polymer dispersed solution was used for inkjet printing.
Inkjet printing plays an important role in low-cost fabrication of integrated circuits compared with etching integrated circuits in a clean room. "This means graphene is expected to change the electronic industry," Adisorn said.
It can be used as a transparent electrode to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) for flexible displays. Currently, manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan use graphene in their displays, especially flexible and touch screen displays, to increase material elasticity by around 20 percent and to lower costs. This elastic material is also suitable for e-book readers and e-paper.
"When Thailand has uplifted its capability in graphene-based electronic device technology that can be used not only for displays but also used to build nanotransistors down to 10 nanometres with 100 GHZ and memory device, I think it will attract investment from manufacturers in upstream technology rather than just using the country as an assembly base," he said.
Graphene also provides a large surface area that is suitable for electrochemical sensors and molecular gas sensors because it boosts sensor sensitivity by more than 50 percent. "I plan to apply it to disposable sensors such as disposable glucose sensors," Adisorn said.