GraphExeter

Abstract: The landscape of consumer electronics has drastically changed over the last decade. Technological advances have led to the development of portable media devices, such as the iPod, smart phones and laptops. This has been achieved primarily through miniaturisation and using materials such as Lithium and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) to increase energy density in batteries and as transparent electrodes for light emitting displays respectively. However, ten years on there are now new consumer demands, which are dictating the direction of research and new products are under constant development. Graphene is a promising next-generation material that was discovered in 2004. It is composed of a two-dimensional lattice made only from carbon. The atoms are arranged in a two atom basis hexagonal crystal structure which forms a fundamental building block of all sp hybrid forms of carbon. The production of large area graphene has a high cost, due to the long growth times and the high temperatures required. This is relevant as graphene is not viable compared to other transparent conductors which are produced on industrial scales for a fraction of the cost of graphene growth. Furthermore, graphene has a high intrinsic resistivity (2KΩ/ ) which is three orders of magnitude greater than the current industry standard ITO. This limits the size of the electrodes as there is dissipation of energy across the electrode leading to inefficiency. Furthermore a potential drop occurs across the electrode leading to