Avere una "antenna" tecnologica in quella parte del mondo non è nell'interesse del pubblico o del privato, ma della ricerca "tout court".
Nella ricerca moderna non ha senso la distinzione pubblico/privato, ognuno deve fare la sua parte: il privato per i fondi ed il personale, il pubblico per il coordinamento e la gestione delle risorse a livello nazionale ed internazionale.
Se manca il coordinamento, i privati vanno in ordine sparso e senza visione globale; la funzione degli enti richiamati nell'articolo è proprio questa, avere o non avere un addetto scientifico fa mancare un fondamentale punto di appoggio e di riferimento anche ai privati.
Per fortuna abbiamo delle persone che, anche se ormai per strutture non italiane, portano avanti delle ricerche che, in un futuro forse neanche tanto lontano, potranno avere un impatto sconvolgente.
Vedasi l'articolo sottoriportato sulle ricerche condotte da Luigi Colombo, per la Texas Instruments e l'università del Texas, sulle strutture sottili monocristaline di grafene. Per i non addetti questi studi potrebbero portare ad applicazioni simili, e probabilmente più avanzate, di quelle basate sul silicio, ma stavolta basate sul carbone.
Se pensiamo che il carbone, per tanti versi simile al silicio, è molto più abbondante in natura, ma sopratutto è alla base della chimica organica, cioè alla base della vita, si può immaginare, anzi non si riesce neanche ad immaginare che sviluppi potrebbero esserci.
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ScienceWatch
Luigi Colombo & Rodney S. Ruoff Discuss Graphene Films
Fast Breaking Papers - 2010 April 2010
Luigi Colombo & Rodney S. Ruoff talk with ScienceWatch.com and answer a few questions about this month's Fast Breaking Paper Paper in the field of Multidisciplinary.
Article Title: Large-Area Synthesis of High-Quality and Uniform Graphene Films on Copper Foils
Authors: Li, XS;Cai, WW;An, JH;Kim, S;Nah, J;Yang, DX;Piner, R;Velamakanni, A;Jung, I;Tutuc, E;Banerjee, SK;Colombo, L;Ruoff, RS
Journal: SCIENCE, Volume: 324, Issue: 5932, Page: 1312-1314, Year: JUN 5 2009
* Texas Instruments Inc, Dallas, TX 75243 USA.
* Texas Instruments Inc, Dallas, TX 75243 USA.
* Univ Texas Austin, Dept Mech Engn, Austin, TX 78712 USA.
* Univ Texas Austin, Texas Mat Inst, Austin, TX 78712 USA.
* Univ Texas Austin, Dept Elect & Comp Engn, Microelect Res Ctr, Austin, TX 78758 USA.
Luigi Colombo
Why do you think your paper is highly cited?
Researchers have an intense interest in large-area growth of monolayer graphene so that they can use the material for a wide range of fundamental studies and explore its potential for many applications. Our paper teaches how to make monolayer graphene of essentially any area—square meters, and even in "endless" lengths.
We believe that this synthesis method of monolayer graphene is enabling many researchers to think about, evaluate, and demonstrate the use of graphene for many applications that were not possible before because of the limited film size and lack of uniformity in thickness.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?
We were the first group to grow large-area monolayer graphene, and we achieved this by using a metal type that had not been used before, namely copper. We exploited use of copper foil as an inexpensive substrate to grow monolayer graphene, but the technique is not limited to this type of Cu substrate.
We benefited from work by others, including those in the surface science community, where fundamental science has been done for close to 40 years on the growth of graphene on small single crystal metal substrates such as nickel, ruthenium, and so on.
We would characterize our work, therefore, as a discovery of a new process and growth mechanism that benefited from fundamental work done over the past 40 years by the surface science community and materials scientists who established phase diagrams.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?
Very large area one-atom-thick carbon films arranged in a hexagonal array, called graphene, were synthesized for the first time. The discovery of this graphene process will enable scientists and engineers to evaluate the use of graphene for many applications, including transparent conductive electrodes, thermal management, nanoelectronics, and potentially many more.
How did you become involved in this research, and were there any problems along the way?
We were interested in developing approaches that would allow for fine control of the number of graphene layers in a large-area film, including achieving monolayer only over large areas.
Dr. Xuesong Li, a postdoctoral fellow at UT Austin, and other coauthors, contributed strongly to this effort.
Rod Ruoff: I've been studying carbon materials (fullerenes, nanotubes, graphene, diamond, amorphous carbons) for about 20 years. My group first published seminal papers on multilayer graphene in 1999, and on the use of colloids of small graphene platelets to make composite materials in high-profile journals in the past decade.
Luigi Colombo: I'm a materials scientist with Texas Instruments collaborating with Ruoff's group over the past two years as a member of the Nanoelectronic Research Initiative (NRI).
NRI's primary objective is to develop a new switch for the semiconductor industry for devices beyond the 15-nm node. NRI has been co-funding research and development on graphene and graphene-based devices since 2006.
Where do you see your research leading in the future?
Because of the unique properties of graphene and our pioneering work in the synthesis of these films, we foresee continued development and improvement of materials for electronic applications, thermal management, and even more.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for your research?
Not directly, but it could have a significant impact on the future of the electronics industry, displays, thermal management, etc.
Luigi Colombo, Ph.D.
TI Fellow
External Research and Development
Texas Instruments Inc.
Dallas, TX, USA
Prof. Rodney S. Ruoff
Cockrell Family Regents Chair
Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Texas Materials Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX, USA