科學家們找到了用微波爐制造納米石墨的簡單新方法

科學家們找到了用微波爐制造納米石墨的簡單新方法

Nano-graphite is an important material employed in lubricants, fire extinguishers, and lithium batteries as graphite is a good conductor of heat and electricity. However, graphite reserves are finite and extraction of this mineral comes with hefty environmental concerns. Now, researchers have found a cheap and easy way to produce it. You just need some copper foil, a glass container full of coal powder, and a conventional microwave oven.

納米石墨是一種熱和電的良好導體，是潤滑劑、滅火器和鋰電池的重要材料。然而，石墨儲量是有限的，開采這種礦物會帶來嚴重的環(huán)境問題?，F(xiàn)在，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種廉價而簡單的生產(chǎn)方法。你只需要一些銅箔，一個裝滿煤粉的玻璃容器，和一個傳統(tǒng)的微波爐。

Detailed in the journal Nano-Structures & Nano-Objects, pulverized coal is sealed in a container with a mixture of hydrogen and argon and some aptly cut copper foil. This is then placed in a microwave. If you've ever made the mistake of putting something metallic in a microwave before, you know what happens next: sparks!

在《納米結構與納米物體》雜志上詳細介紹，煤粉被密封在一個容器中，與氫氣和氬氣的混合物和一些適當切割的銅箔。然后將其放入微波爐。如果你曾經(jīng)犯過把金屬物品放進微波爐的錯誤，你知道接下來會發(fā)生什么:火花!

Dr Alfredo Carpineti

“By cutting the copper foil into a fork shape, the sparks were induced by the microwave radiation, generating an extremely high temperature of more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit within a few seconds,” lead author Christoffer Masi from the University of Wyoming said in a statement. “This is why you shouldn’t place a metal fork inside a microwave oven,” he added.

研究報告的第一作者、懷俄明大學的克里斯多夫·馬西在一份聲明中說:“將銅箔切成叉子狀，微波輻射會產(chǎn)生火花，幾秒鐘內(nèi)就會產(chǎn)生超過1800華氏度的高溫。”他補充說:“這就是為什么你不應該把金屬叉子放在微波爐里的原因。”

When the coal powder was exposed to those 980°C (1,800°F) sparks, the temperature was high enough to turn it into polycrystalline graphite. The hydrogen also helps in the process. The team tested this approach with times ranging between 3-45 minutes. The optimal duration for the process was found to be around 15 minutes.

當煤粉暴露在攝氏980度(1800華氏度)的火花下時，溫度高到足以使其變成多晶石墨。氫在這個過程中也有幫助。該團隊用3-45分鐘的時間測試了這種方法。該過程的最佳持續(xù)時間約為15分鐘。

Graphite is a good conductor of heat and elect

This may sound a bit like scientists playing around with equipment they have lying around at home but it could actually have some important real-world applications. “This method provides a new route to convert abundant carbon sources to high-value materials with ecological and economic benefits,” the team wrote in the study. “Finite graphite reserves and environmental concerns for the graphite extraction procedures make this method of converting coal to graphite a great alternative source of graphite production.”

這聽起來可能有點像科學家們在家里擺弄他們的設備，但它實際上可能有一些重要的現(xiàn)實應用。該研究小組在研究報告中寫道:“這種方法為將豐富的碳源轉化為具有生態(tài)和經(jīng)濟效益的高價值材料提供了一條新途徑。”出于對有限的石墨儲量和對石墨開采過程的環(huán)境考慮，使這種將煤轉化為石墨的方法成為石墨生產(chǎn)的一個很好的替代來源。

This is not the first time that coal has been refined using microwave technology. Previous approaches saw the reduction of moisture or the removal of certain minerals such as sulfur also achieved by employing microwave ovens. The drawback in those methods is the requirement that the coal undergoes particular chemical pre-treatment for the reactions to take place, which is not needed with this new technique.

這并不是第一次用微波技術精煉煤炭。以前的方法可以減少水分或去除某些礦物質(zhì)，如硫，也可以通過使用微波爐來實現(xiàn)。這些方法的缺點是需要對煤進行特殊的化學預處理才能發(fā)生反應，而新技術不需要這種預處理。

The researchers believe that this technology can be scaled up and the material involved changed, with the goal of improving on the quality and yield of the nano-graphite produced.

研究人員認為，這項技術可以擴大規(guī)模，所涉及的材料也會發(fā)生變化，其目標是提高納米石墨的質(zhì)量和產(chǎn)量。

“The small thermal load makes this method cost-effective and has potential for higher temperature using metals with higher melting temperature,” the authors write. “Refinement of this technique is possible to yield a higher quality and quantity of nano-graphite materials for a wider range of applications.”

作者寫道:“小的熱負荷使得這種方法具有成本效益，并且有潛力使用具有更高熔化溫度的金屬達到更高的溫度。”“對這項技術的改進有可能生產(chǎn)出質(zhì)量和數(shù)量都更高的納米石墨材料，用于更廣泛的應用。”