Graphene Balloon Created

The smallest balloon in the history of the world has been made within a graphene membrane. The balloon was essentially a pressurized bubble of gas contained within the graphene mesh of the carbon atoms. These pressurized bubbles essentially created one-atom-thick "drum heads" over pressurized wells made in silica glass. The balloons ranged in area from 1 to 100 square micrometers.

Just as with a regular balloon, changes to the pressure of the gas contained by the graphene caused the membrane to expand or contract. The graphene itself was able to withstand the forces, though the Van der Waals forces (which hold the graphene layer to the silica glass) eventually failed to maintain a tight seal. They were able to withstand pressures of several atmospheres before the seal failed. When the seal failed, of course, the balloon fails ... but this is akin to letting go of the air hole of a balloon rather than the elastic membrane rupturing. Even the small amount of gas which leaked out of the system over the course of several days did so through the silica glass, not through the graphene!

Until now, the major focus on graphene has been on its potential to revolutionize electronics, but it also has strong potential, along with other carbon nano-structures, to revolutionize the mechanical materials that we work with.

Related Articles:

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• Nano Letters - Impermeable Atomic Membranes from Graphene Sheets (abstract & full paper available)
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• Even More Nano - Tiny Graphene Transistor
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