Skip to main content
Home

Dedicated to discovery

  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
  • Contact
  • EN
  • DE
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
Home
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • Purelab Chorus 2+ (RO/DI/UV) / (RO/EDI/UV)
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY 30
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
Home
  • Contact us
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • Purelab Chorus 2+ (RO/DI/UV) / (RO/EDI/UV)
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY 30
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
  • Contact
  • EN
  • DE
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • A New Step Towards Releasing the Full Potential of Graphene
Cool Science
Science of the Future

A New Step Towards Releasing the Full Potential of Graphene

2 Mar 2020
- by Dr Alison Halliday

Structure of hexagonal nano material. Nanotechnology concept

Ultrapure water prepared using a PURELAB water purification system is a key reagent in a simple new method for producing graphene, paving the way for scientists to unlock more of the tantalizing opportunities promised by one of the world's most exciting materials.

In 2004, scientists discovered and isolated graphene - a single atomic layer of carbon arranged in a distinctive honeycomb lattice, a breakthrough that subsequently led them to a Nobel Prize. Due to its incredibly versatile properties, graphene has the potential to create huge-scale impact across a vast number of products, processes, and industries. It is many times stronger than steel yet incredibly lightweight and flexible, plus electrically and thermally conductive while also transparent. 

All this, and it's one million times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair!

Producing High-Quality Graphene at Scale with the Help of ELGA

However, a major bottleneck standing in the way of unleashing graphene's full possibilities is a reliable and scalable production method. Monolayer graphene can be produced by epitaxial growth  (where a thin layer is grown on the surface of a crystal) - or using chemical vapor deposition.  However, both methods produce only tiny amounts, so far limiting usage to specific high-performance applications such as in the electronics or optoelectronics fields.

But graphene has many other potential applications that need much larger quantities - including the development of new nanocomposites, or in nanomedicine such as in drug delivery, biosensors or tissue engineering. Scientists in these fields have instead leaned towards using chemical derivatives of graphene, which are easier to produce in huge quantities. But although these are interesting materials, their properties are different to pure graphene.

So there's a huge thirst for developing new, improved ways of producing graphene at large-scale and at low-cost.

Mechanical Exfoliation of Graphite

Scientists have experienced some success at generating few-layer graphene of reasonable quality using methods involving the mechanical exfoliation of graphite. However, there are big shortcomings - including low yields and difficulty in removing any dispersants used during exfoliation.

Another constraint is that graphene itself is extremely hydrophobic, with almost all dispersions (usually required for its handling and processing) prepared in poisonous organic solvents. This creates issues with storage, transportation, and toxicity in biological applications. Creating a few-layer graphene as a solid that is dispersible in water would open a wealth of new opportunities for exploiting graphene.

An Inexpensive New Method

Now, a team of researchers set out a simple new protocol in Nature Protocols that can produce a good yield of few-layer graphene as a powder, which is easily dispersed in aqueous media. During their four-step process, the researchers prepared ultrapure water immediately before use by purifying previously deionized water using an ELGA PURELAB UHQ system. Importantly, their method also includes steps to remove the dispersant, with biological assays of the product showing no toxic effects.

This low-cost, simple new protocol marks a significant step forward for graphene development. The product is suitable for applications involving bulk quantities of aqueous material, such as polymer composites, inks or biomedicine development.

Why Choose ELGA LabWater?

ELGA has been a trusted name in pure and ultrapure water since 1937. We are market leaders in water purification technology development and using our state-of-the-art systems can help you to achieve consistent, accurate results.

 

Reference: 
Gonzalez-Dominguez et al. Production of ready-to-use few-layer graphene in aqueous suspensions. Nature 
Protocols (2018), Vol 13, No 3, p495-506.

 

Dr Alison Halliday
After completing an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Genetics at Sheffield University, Alison was awarded a PhD in Human Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle. She carried out five years as a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL, investigating the genes involved in childhood obesity syndrome. Moving into science communications, she spent ten years at Cancer Research UK engaging the public about the charity’s work. She now specialises in writing about research across the life sciences, medicine and health.

  • Sales Enquiry
  • Get a Quote
  • Technical Support
  • Find an Approved Partner

Sales Enquiry

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

I'd like to receive updates from ELGA LabWater & ELGA Approved Partners based on my details.

Get a Quote

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

I'd like to receive updates from ELGA LabWater & ELGA Approved Partners based on my details.

Technical Support

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

Call us

Can't find what you are looking for?

Support Number
+44 (0)20 3567 7300
United Kingdom Sales
+44 (0)1628 879 704
United States of America Sales
+1 877-315-3542
France Sales
+33 1 40 83 65 00
China Sales
+86 400-616-8882

 

ELGA LabWater US Headquarters

ELGA LabWater North America
5 Earl Ct Suite 100
Woodridge, IL 60517
USA

Tel: 630-343-5251

Case Studies

  • Abbott Diagnostics
  • DASA Medical Diagnostics
  • NeoDIN Medical Institute
  • North Staffordshire NHS Trust
  • Olsberg Vocational College

Resources

  • Learn About Ultrapure Water
  • Guides and White Papers
  • Purification Technologies
  • Applications
  • Impurities In Water
  • Latest Blog
  • Water Purity - Different Types of Pure Water
  • What is Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water (CLSI)?
  • What is Total Organic Carbon (TOC)?

© VWS (UK) Ltd. trading as ELGA LabWater. 2025 - All rights reserved.
ELGA is the global laboratory water brand name of Veolia.

  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • Language
    • Deutsch
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Português
    • 日本語
    • 中文
  • Other Veolia Sites
    • Veolia
    • Veolia Foundation
    • Veolia Water Technologies
Elga Veolia
TOP

© 2017 ELGA Veolia