Great Country Academician

The joy brought by the good news of the controllable nuclear fusion project still lingers in my heart, and another good news came from the Chuanhai Materials Research Institute.

It's not that there is any breakthrough in high-temperature superconducting materials, but it is said that a method that can quickly synthesize graphene has been found.

Graphene, the name must have been heard by anyone who pays a little attention to the materials industry.

It is a two-dimensional atomic scale, hexagonal carbon allotrope material, which has important application prospects in optics, electricity, mechanics, micro-nano processing, energy, biomedicine, and drug delivery.

It is also the thinnest, strongest, and most powerful new nanomaterial discovered so far. It is called "black gold" and is the "king of new materials".

Scientists even predict that graphene will "revolutionize the 21st century." It is very likely to set off a disruptive new technology and new industry revolution sweeping the world.

If it has any disadvantages, on the one hand, it is very difficult and expensive to produce graphene on a large scale, and on the other hand, graphene materials are easily oxidized in the air, which limits its scope of use to a certain extent.

Of course, this refers to the kind of graphene that can be applied industrially, not the so-called hundreds of layers of graphene that you can get by scratching on the manuscript paper with a 2B pencil.

That kind of makes absolutely no sense.

At present, when the global production of graphene was reported in 2019, the cumulative total of all countries was only 1,200 tons.

1,200 tons, compared to the demand for graphene in the global market, this figure is not even a drop in the bucket.

When replicating high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting materials before, Xu Chuan asked Chuanhai Materials Research Institute to study carbon nanomaterials for the same purpose. He wanted to try to see if he could make a breakthrough in this area.

After all, besides graphene, there are many other types of carbon nanomaterials.

Such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, nanocarbon spheres, fullerenes, nanodiamonds, etc., these carbon nanomaterials also have quite broad application prospects.

For example, fullerene, in addition to some properties of graphene, can also be applied to cosmetics.

Fullerene C60 has the functions of scavenging active oxygen free radicals, activating skin cells, and preventing aging.

Since the 21st century, fullerenes have been used as raw materials for cosmetics. They have excellent value in anti-wrinkle, whitening and anti-aging, and have become high-profile cutting-edge beauty ingredients. Many high-end skin care brands contain fullerenes.

Its unique properties allow it to act like a sponge to scavenge free radicals on the skin, with strong absorption and large capacity.

But it has the same disadvantages as graphene, and it cannot be mass-produced.

Carbon nanomaterials can be said to be quite a huge treasure house, and just digging out a little bit from it is enough to benefit you for a lifetime.

It was precisely with this mentality that Xu Chuan asked the Chuanhai Materials Research Institute to study it by the way.

However, he did not expect that in the field of graphene, the research institute would have a breakthrough so soon.

Quickly rushed to Chuanhai Materials Research Institute, Xu Chuan came to Fan Pengyue's office.

Seeing him coming, Brother Fan, who was busy with work, put down the pen in his hand.

Xu Chuan didn't talk nonsense, and asked directly and quickly: "What about the new method of synthesizing graphene?"

Fan Pengyue got up, opened the drawer, took out a document that he promised to prepare in advance, and handed it over.

Xu Chuan took it and read it carefully.

The result surprised him a bit. The rapid synthesis of graphene materials developed by the Chuanhai Materials Research Institute was not developed by the carbon nanomaterials research group. It was discovered by the lithium battery research team inadvertently while studying lithium-sulfur batteries.

Because of the artificial SEI film, Chuanhai Materials Research Institute has always had an independent department researching lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, and lithium metal batteries.

These batteries are, after all, a promising field if the lithium dendrite problem is solved.

When further optimizing the lithium battery, a researcher named 'Yan Liu' used hydrazine hydrate/ascorbic acid/molten salt hydroxide/positive electrode waste current collector aluminum foil as a reducing agent to try to modify the LiFePO4 positive electrode. Improve the electrochemical performance and cycle stability of lithium batteries.

The optimization was not achieved, but surprisingly, Yan Liu found a layer of carbon film attached to the negative electrode during the production test of the failed product.

After testing, it was confirmed that this is a layer of relatively high-purity graphene film material.

This layer of graphene film immediately attracted Yan Liu's attention. He knew that the Chuanhai Materials Research Institute was currently researching carbon nanomaterials, so he quickly reported the matter to Fan Pengyue.

Under the arrangement of Fan Pengyue, led by Yan Liu and assisted by other researchers of carbon nanomaterials, a steering group was established to study this layer of graphene or the original experimental process.

The final study shows that the intercalation/extraction of Li+ during the charging and discharging process of LIBs will destroy the van der Waals bonds between the graphite layers, resulting in lattice expansion, so that the graphite layers can be effectively separated.

To this end, the electrochemically cycled graphite anode is chemically oxidized to obtain uniformly dispersed GO, which can increase the yield of graphene under the action of shear force and acid treatment, and then form graphene.

Through further reduction experiments, Yan Liu and the others obtained graphene with one to four layers, and the exfoliation efficiency is 3-11 times that of natural graphite, the highest yield is 40%, the thickness of the graphene layer is 1.5 nm and the conductivity is 9100 S m1 material.

Compared with the normal preparation of single-layer or multi-layer graphene materials by mechanical exfoliation, orientation epitaxy, liquid phase or gas phase direct exfoliation, the efficiency of this method can indeed be said to be quite high.

After reading the information in his hand, Xu Chuan also sighed a little.

I have to say that sometimes luck is really important in the process of material research.

Who would have thought that when optimizing lithium-ion batteries, they would accidentally find a new way to prepare high-purity graphene materials?

Of course, there are also problems with the way this graphene material is synthesized.

For example, the preparation of graphene from waste lithium-sulfur batteries by using this kind of "chemical oxidation-reduction method" obviously also involves the use of environmentally unfriendly and expensive oxidizing and reducing agents.

At the same time, the integrity of the graphene structure will be destroyed due to the chemical reaction.

These are all questions.

But putting aside these problems, the prospect of preparing graphene materials by this method is indeed broad.

Not to mention other things, its peeling efficiency can reach several times that of natural graphene, which is quite an exaggerated figure.

After learning about the preparation process of this graphene material in detail, and sorting out some thoughts in his mind, Xu Chuan continued to hand over this matter to a researcher named Yan Liu to deal with it.

As for himself, he returned to the Qixia Controllable Nuclear Fusion Park to preside over the work.

The mass production of graphene is indeed very important, which is a very broad market, but the first ignition operation of the dawn fusion device is even more important.

On the other hand, when Xu Chuan was closely preparing for the ignition test run, the EAST device on Luyang Science Island was ready to start up again.

The time soon came to September 25th.

The weather in early autumn is cloudless, and a breeze blows hot breath on people's faces.

In Luzhou Science Island, in the main control room of the EAST controllable nuclear fusion reactor, Chen Mingji stared at the screen in front of the main console. On it, various beating images and curves showed that the EAST device was running.

On the side, the assistant Mo Hongyun reported the situation: "Academician Chen, the plasma temperature has reached 117 million degrees Celsius. Do you want to officially start the experiment?"

Chen Mingji nodded, and gave an order: "Start running the experiment!"

As the order was passed on, the work was completed one by one, and the long and tense time passed little by little.

Arrived in five minutes.

It has to be said that the EAST device that has undergone thousands of experimental discharges does have its ability, and the time of five minutes and three hundred seconds is not its limit.

In the main control room, Chen Mingji, who was always paying attention to various data, showed a satisfied expression in his eyes. Although he had ordered to set the running time at five minutes, he also made other preparations.

If the EAST device works well during the experiment, the experiment will continue and reach the limit of EAST.

I don't know how long it has passed, and a burst of cheers broke out in the general control.

Chen Mingji, who was standing in the crowd, also had a smile on his face.

Although he was not interested in that academician Xu because of his position and his ass, he was indeed sincere about the advancement of the controllable nuclear fusion experiment.

450.73 seconds!

Undoubtedly, this runtime breaks the historical record for a tokamak device!

The 120-plus seconds created by the French superconducting tokamak device is only one third of it.

Compared with the 300 seconds he proposed before, the running time is nearly half longer.

Seven and a half points, this data is enough for him to show off to the world.

With the completion of the finishing work, Chen Mingji also accepted the media invitation to make a detailed report on this EAST operation experiment.

After all, the current EAST is the largest controllable nuclear fusion reactor in the country, and it is also the most advanced reactor. The 450-second running time broke the 20-second running time at 100 million temperatures in Korea, setting a new historical record.

At such a great moment, it makes no sense not to make a report and show it to the world.

Especially for Chen Mingji, this kind of exposure is also necessary.

After all, every operation test, especially this record-breaking experiment, is the best proof for him to ask for funds from above, and it is also the best way for him to control the domestic controllable nuclear fusion field.

"Academician Chen, it's a great honor to be here to interview you today. I heard that EAST has just achieved a running time of 450. Could you please explain the meaning of this number to the general public?"

The media reporters from the "Nuclear Industry News" who came to interview started the formal interview after a polite greeting.

Chen Mingji nodded with a smile, and said in a happy mood, "Of course there is no problem."

"EAST is a magnetic confinement nuclear fusion experimental device independently developed by Luyang Plasma Research Institute. It is also the world's first non-circular cross-section full superconducting tokamak. A number of original results have been achieved in research.”

"For example, the running time. At a temperature of 100 million levels, the longest running time before was 20 seconds in Korea. Today, on this basis, we have increased the time to 450 seconds! It has been improved by a full 22 times."

"This not only breaks the record for the running time of the tokamak device, but also breaks the longest running time of the controllable nuclear fusion reactor created by the stellarator Helix 7X."

"Of course, this award means that we are at the forefront of the world on the road of controllable nuclear fusion, and it also means that we are one step closer to realizing controllable nuclear fusion!"

Reporter: "Congratulations, you have created a new history."

A word of congratulations first, and the media reporter of "Nuclear Industry News" then asked: "I heard that the Qixia Controllable Nuclear Fusion Project led by Academician Xu Chuanxu also achieved ignition in July. This is currently our second domestic nuclear fusion project. A fusion reactor that can achieve billion-level temperature control."

"And it is expected that on October 1st, they will also start the ignition operation experiment. What do you think about this? Can academician Xu also achieve the same running time of 450 seconds?"

Hearing this, Chen Mingji sneered, but then he restrained his smile and said, "It's not that easy to achieve a running time of 450 seconds."

"EAST has spent thirteen years from 2007 to the present to achieve a running time of 450 seconds. And this record has not been achieved by any other country, which shows how difficult this road is. Walk."

"To be honest, I am not very optimistic about the nuclear fusion project led by Academician Xu. He relies on decommissioned equipment purchased from the Planck Institute of Plasma Research, and it has only been less than two months since it came back from operation. time."

"In two months, it is very good to be able to complete the ignition experiment. I am afraid that it will take a little time to achieve the 450-second running record of EAST."

On the "a little bit" in the last sentence, Chen Mingji deliberately emphasized a little bit.

On the other side, the reporter of "Nuclear Industry News" obviously understood what the man in front of him said, but he didn't say anything, just smiled.

According to the person in front of me, this is a little bit, I am afraid that the exact time is not easy to say.

After all, he couldn't break the casserole and ask the end, so he could only take it as Academician Chen's euphemistic answer.

Smiling, the reporter continued to ask: "That is to say, the academician Xu announced that he wants to break the operating record on October 1st. I'm afraid it will not be so easy to do?"

Chen Mingji nodded with a smile, and said: "There are many problems in the tokamak device that need to be solved. In addition, the second-hand equipment is still bought. Their operation can be successfully ignited and run for about ten seconds. It's been pretty good."

"If you want to break the record, even if it is the 20-second billion-level ignition record created by Korea before, it is very difficult, and there is little hope. As for the 450-second operation of EAST, I am afraid it will take a long time to do it."

"After all, he is just a junior on the road of controllable nuclear fusion."

PS: I’m sorry, readers, I broke my promise today. It was supposed to be three o’clock, but after Yao got up today, he might have caught a cold from the air conditioner at night, and he was dizzy all day long, and his nose was running non-stop.

The weather here in Changsha is very hot these days, thirty-eight nine degrees (personally estimated that it must be 40 degrees, as for the broadcast, you know) so the air conditioner has been turned on for the past two days, and the fan has been used before, which may not be too Adapt, then catch a cold? (I just hope it's not Sanyang)

I went to the community hospital to hang up four bottles of water and came back in the afternoon. I barely wrote a chapter and updated it. Sorry.

Another: Hachio will not refuse what he promised, as compensation, after the cold is cured, the promise will be doubled!