In Texas, Rice University scientists have turned pine into graphene—an electrical conductor—using lasers.
Laser-induced graphene is a form of carbon that is just an atom thick with chemically active edges exposed to air. It was discovered at Rice three years ago. Birch and oak were also used, but pine’s cross-linked lignocellulose structure made it a better candidate.
“It’s a union of the archaic with the newest nanomaterial into a single composite structure,” says Rice chemist James Tour. The breakthrough is published in the July issue of Advanced Materials.