Could there be a two-dimensional material in a three-dimensional universe? Graphene, only synthesized in 2004, comes as close as possible. At one atom thick, it is one of the thinnest materials we know. Yet it is 150 times stronger than steel — and still, as pliable as rubber. The six-sided powerhouse can handle many times more electric current than regular materials with zero resistance. That could prove handy for next-gen electronics.

As noted at Nature:

Being just a monolayer sheet, these materials have an astronomical surface area to mass ratio, suggesting that they could be excellent catalysts. There has also been much work to employ them as battery materials, as the relevant ions have a large surface to adhere to. The fact that graphene is both metallic and soluble means that it can be used in conducting inks for printing electronic circuits at very low cost.

Twenty years of 2D materials. Nat. Phys. 20, 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02381-0

And graphene is even environmentally friendly.

Despite sounding like a supermaterial from one of those sci-fi films — or else chemistry from Flatland — graphene is science. It was first predicted in 1947 by Canadian physicist Philip R. Wallace, who wanted to understand the electronic structure of pencil lead (graphite). In 2004 physicists Konstantin Novoselov, Andre Geim, and colleagues used adhesive tape on pencil marks to begin the process of producing single-layer graphene. Their enterprisingly simple method eventually succeeded and they received the Nobel Prize in 2010 for their efforts.

Industrial uses with a planet-friendly approach

Renowned chemist James Tour will be speaking at COSM this year (Friday November 1) on “The Graphene Moment,” that is, the challenge of integrating graphene into industrial uses. In a panel moderated by tech philosopher George Gilder, his fellow panelist will be physicist and nanoscience researcher Walt de Heer who directs Georgia Tech’s graphene laboratory, among other things.

COSM 2024 attendees can mingle with top tech movers and shakers and get their insider perspective on the hopes, the hypes, the gripes… If you register here by September 6 (that’s tomorrow night), a special discount of $100 off the Early Adopter registration fee of $1,250 applies. Simply use the discount code DI-FRIEND.

Tour’s own work on graphene includes means of producing the substance, used to strengthen concrete, from waste materials (Nature paper). He spoke at COSM 2021 on his work:

But there have been important developments since then:

● There is a “precise new magic” angle at which sheets of graphene can be twisted and stacked to enable superconductivity with very little dissipation or friction (MIT 2022).

● In graphene, electrons become fractions of themselves, according to a paper in Nature and this exotic (to say the least) electronic state could help with quantum computing. (MIT 2024)

● “The new 2D Materials report helpfully categorizes the many applications into three sub-markets. These are: graphene electronics (exploiting its unique electrical properties); graphene composites (focusing on its hardness and strength); and graphene batteries (where it could potentially outperform every other material).” (PhysicsWorld 2024)

How will Silicon Valley adapt?

Will Silicon Valley become Graphene Valley (asked at Politico this year)? A key hurdle is producing enough graphene. That’s not a problem for silicon, which is made from desert sand via perfected techniques.

Kevin Wyss, one of Tour’s graduate students, who spoke at COSM 2023, focuses on the challenge of producing it in large quantities: “Graphene is a proven supermaterial, but manufacturing the versatile form of carbon at usable scales remains a challenge” (The Conversation 2022)

Another COSM attraction this year: The Valley’s “most important person,” Peter Thiel, to speak at COSM. Thiel’s “contrarian” mystique likely stems from the fact that he is in a position to say out loud what other Valley dwellers must be content to whisper. If you can get to COSM 2024 to hear Thiel and other “contrarians” on where Big Tech is at just now, you’d be crazy to miss it.