A team of Engineers and Physicists from Exeter have discovered that GraphExeter – a material adapted from the graphene – can improve the effectiveness of large, flat, flexible lighting. The research team also believes the material could improve the viability of flexible screens.
GraphExeter was discovered in 2012 by teams from the University’s Centre for Graphene Science, who sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two graphene layers. The material is said to be more than 1000 times better than graphene at conducting electricity and to be, by far, the best known transparent material able to conduct electricity.
The research has shown that using GraphExeter makes lights 30% more efficient than existing examples of flexible lighting. Researcher Dr Saverio Russo said: “Not only are lights that use GraphExeter much brighter, they are also far more resilient to repeated flexing, which makes ‘bendy’ screens more feasible for day to day goods such as mobile phones.”
By replacing graphene with GraphExeter, the team created a lit screen that showed greater and more consistent light than previously been possible. Furthermore, the screens were more resilient to continued flexing, meaning that they have a longer shelf-life before needing to be replaced..
