Welcome to Graphene Engineering Lab at Sung Kyun Kwan University
Graphene is a one-atom thick 2-dimensional material consisting of carbon atoms with honeycomb-like lattice structure. It is the base material of graphitic carbon materials such fullerene, carbon nanotube, and graphite. Since its introduction in 2004, many of its properties have been discovered to be uncomparable to other materials. For example, it has been measured to be the strongest material and electric charges flow 100 times faster than silicon, and its thermal conductivity is higher than any others.
Our lab is interested in measuring basic properties, especially mechanical, tribological, and fluidic, properties and engineering it to develop new materials, composites, and devices. Also we want to study other atomically-thin layered materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), for mechanical, electrical, and optical applications. The work in our lab is multidisciplinary and involves mechanics, tribology, fluidics, electronics, optics, chemistry, and physics.
Using an AFM indentation technique, graphene’s elastic properties and strength were measured. It turned out that grapheme is the strongest material ever measured and one of the stfiffest.
Due to its 2-dimensionality, graphene has very low friction coefficient. On nanoscale, when an AFM tip scans over it, it bends and bulges up and the friction increases due to “puckering effect”.