"Magical material" graphene or will become an environmental pollutant

For many followers of graphene, graphene is a magical substance that can change the world. But will it also cause pollution to the earth at the same time?

This is the subject of a recent study by researchers at the University of California—what would be the impact on the environment if graphene is released into the environment?

They found that graphene oxide nanoparticles can spread rapidly through surface water, which means that if the substance accidentally flows into the lake or river, it will cause potential harm to animals, plants and even humans.

“The situation is now similar to when we faced chemicals and drugs 30 years ago,” said Jacob D. Lanphere, a researcher at the University of California's Riverside Burns School of Engineering. “It’s just that we don’t know when What impact these nanomaterials have on soil or water bodies, so this time we need to be far-sighted, using the data in hand to explore ways to promote sustainable application and development of this technology in the future."

Graphene oxide nanoparticles are made of graphene oxide, which has good flexibility, high mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity, which means it can be used in other technical fields such as computers, solar panels, and mobile phones.

However, in an article published in the journal Environmental Engineering Science, "Transportation and Stability of Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles in Groundwater and Surface Water," Lanphere discovered that graphene has become a serious Environmental pollutants. When graphene is released into surface water, its hardness will increase, and less organic material will be adsorbed. It will soon become unstable, neither precipitation nor banding with water flow. go. But in surface water, it maintains good stability and can spread quickly.

If graphene is a harmless substance, then there is no problem with it. In addition, a study last year found that if humans accidentally ingested graphene, graphene cuts human cells and destroys their contents.

“These graphene materials may be inadvertently inhaled by humans or may be artificially injected or implanted into the body as part of a new biomedical technology,” said Robert Hurt, an engineering professor from Brown University. “So we I want to know how they interact with cells in the human body."

Prior to this study, scientists believed that graphene was always presented in the most perfect square monolithic form. However, the Brown team found that sharp, small pieces of graphene were easily broken down. If these fragments of material come into contact with human cells, they can cut and absorb human cells. It is not entirely clear what will happen next, just as scientists are not aware of the consequences of long-term exposure to graphene.

Although graphene has now achieved small-scale applications, there is still a long way to go to make it a everyday material. Before we make it into everyday materials, the most important thing to consider is what hazards it can cause. Of course, we can't ignore the great benefits it brings. It has yet to be further explored to achieve a wide range of applications.