‘Wonder material’ for less than noble causes

Distilling alcohol using graphene seems to be the latest use for Manchester’s ‘wonder material’. Graphene seems to have hardly strayed from news headlines since its discovery won the Nobel Prize for University of Manchester physicists in 2010.

By changing the chemical properties of graphene slightly, an international collaboration of researchers have created a membrane which allows water through but prevented some gases and liquids. These thin films, made of several layers of graphene oxide, were used to seal a metal box. Sensitive detection equipment revealed no leakage of gases from the box, even helium which is difficult to contain.

When the experiment was repeated with water sealed into the box, it was found that water molecules passed through unhindered. This is because there is a small gap between the layers of graphene oxide which is just big enough for water molecules.

Other types of molecules failed to imitate water water’s unimpeded passage. Instead, they were blocked by the water molecules or the structure within the graphene changed shape, preventing them from passing through.

For a joke, the researchers sealed a bottle of vodka in the box and found it got stronger over time. None of the researchers wished to drink the vodka, however. We, at The Mancunion are not sure if the vodka is available to be sampled.

Graphene is a material made of carbon atoms in a honeycomb structure. It is a sheet, just one atom thick which has already proved to have the potential for many uses. It conducts electricity as well as copper and transfers heat more effectively than any material currently in existence.

Like any new scientific discovery, the safety of graphene in food products has not yet been ascertained. Until this is known, we’ll have to stick to the vodka distilled using more traditional methods with the more traditional health risks associated with drinking it.