Meter length graphene crystals next? Researchers create them 10,000x bigger than last try 11/15/2013 - 00:00 When it comes to the growth of graphene — an ultrathin, ultrastrong, all-carbon material — it is survival of the fittest, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.The team used surface oxygen to grow centimeter-size single graphene crystals on copper. The crystals were about 10,000 times as large as the largest crystals from only four years ago. Very large single crystals have exceptional electrical properties.“The game we play is that we want nucleation (the growth of tiny 'crystal seeds') to occur, but we also want to harness and control how many of these tiny nuclei there are, and which will grow larger,” said Rodney S. Ruoff, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering. “Oxygen at the right surface concentration means only a few nuclei grow, and winners can grow into very large crystals.”
