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Image: nanocarbon.cz

     Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made a leap forward in the race for mass production of graphene, using water, soap, and a blender that reportedly cost €39.95.
     In 2010, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov won a Nobel Prize for their experiments regarding the material, after peeling off thinner and thinner layers of carbon graphite with scotch tape until they produced graphene, a material no more than a few atoms thick. Now, researchers at the materials science center in Dublin have substituted the sticky tape method for a blender, which separates the layers of graphite, and a water-based surfactant which keeps the layers apart.
    Graphene has fascinated the scientific community since its discovery, and now that progress is being made towards the production of the wonder material, a wholly new realm of possibilities is revealing itself. The graphene industry, which is predicted to be worth $100 million by 2018, could potentially revolutionize everything from clean water, to smartphones, to cleanup of nuclear waste.

More Here: Independent