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June 12, 2013 1:46 pm
Manchester scientists find remarkable magnetic
property of graphene
By Clive Cookson, Science Editor
Scientists at Manchester University, who discovered graphene just nine years ago, have demonstrated another remarkable property of
what many have hailed as the first wonder material of the 21st century.
The latest finding, reported in the journal Nature Communications, is that microscopic patches of graphene can be made magnetic and
the magnetism turned on and off with an electric switch.
This could open a new route to electronic devices with extremely low energy consumption, said Andre Geim, who shared a Nobel Prize
for the original discovery and is a co-author of research.
A vast range of other applications for graphene are already in development, from foldable computer displays, better batteries and solar
cells, stronger aircraft wings to new drug delivery systems.
The Manchester graphene team is the first to show in any material how to switch magnetism on and off rather than changing its
direction from north to south and vice versa.
Magnetic materials are key to many information storage devices including computer discs, which store bits of data through north or
south polarisation. But flipping orientation is a relatively slow and energy-consuming process, which has not yet been incorporated in
active devices such as transistors.
This breakthrough allows us to work towards transistor-like devices in which information is written down by switching graphene
between its magnetic and non-magnetic states, said Irina Grigorieva, head of the Manchester team.
Graphene is the thinnest possible two-dimensional material, consisting of a sheet of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal chicken-wire
pattern. When a few of the carbons are removed or other atoms added then the magnetic properties emerge.
The Manchester researchers showed that miniature clouds of electrons form around these holes or additions when a voltage is applied.
This creates a microscopic magnet that disappears instantly when the voltage is removed. The effect can be repeated indefinitely by
switching the electricity on and off.
I wonder how many more surprises graphene keeps in store, said Prof Geim. This one has come out of the blue. We have to wait and
see for a few years but the switchable magnetism may lead to an impact exceeding most optimistic expectations.
Although graphene is the subject of intense work in labs around the world, Manchester remains at the forefront of discovery. The 61m
National Graphene Institute is due to open there in 2015.
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6/12/13 Manchester scientists find remarkable magnetic property of graphene - FT.com
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