A team of scientists from the University of Exeter used nanotechnology to incorporate graphene into concrete. To do this, they added a suspension of graphene particles and a stabilizer to the building mixture, which prevented the graphene from clumping. The experiment resulted in a composite material that is twice as strong and four times more resistant to moisture than conventional concrete.
At the same time, innovative concrete is also more economical: to obtain it, the researchers required 50% less mix when compared with traditional production. “This, in turn, leads to a 446 kg reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of material,” explains research team leader Monica Craciun. According to fellow team member Dimitar Dimov, graphene-reinforced concrete, with its broad functionality and environmental benefits, could revolutionize the construction industry and be another step towards sustainable production.
Graphene is one of the strongest materials known to science; it is about 200 times stronger than steel. Graphene consists of one layer of carbon atoms (it is even called two-dimensional). Due to this structure, as well as the "special" behavior of electrons, the material has an impressive set of physicochemical properties (in addition to super strength): high electrical and thermal conductivity, large specific surface area, transparency, chemical stability.
For the first time, graphene was obtained in 2004 at the University of Manchester by two immigrants from Russia, MIPT graduates Andrey Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. For their experiments, they received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.
