2D materials shroud liquid droplets to exploit electronic properties

The scientists have built on their previous work to wrap emulsion droplets with graphene and other 2D materials by reducing the coatings down to atomically-thin nanosheet layers. In doing so they were able to create electrically-conducting liquid emulsions that are the lowest-loading graphene networks ever reported at 0.001 vol%.

According to Sussex University, this means that the subsequent liquid electronic technology –strain sensors to monitor physical performance and health, electronic devices printed from emulsion droplets, and even potentially more efficient and longer-lasting electric vehicle batteries - will be cheaper and more sustainable because they will require less graphene or other 2D nanosheets coating the droplets.

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Significantly, the scientists can now make these electronic droplet networks using any liquids (previous research focused on oils and water) because they have discovered how to control which liquid droplets are wrapped in graphene, so emulsions can be designed specifically to the desired application. The team’s findings are published in ACS Nano.