Roundup: Children's putty used to create sensitive sensors in graphene breakthrough

Children's play putty has been used to create sensors so sensitive it can detect the footsteps of tiny spiders.

What was described Thursday as a world-first graphene innovation could see medical devices and diagnostics using applications created by the breakthrough.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with colleagues from the National Graphene Institute (NGI) used graphene to make the novelty children's material Silly Putty (polysilicone) conduct electricity. What was a playful experiment allowed scientists to create extremely sensitive sensors.

"The world first research, led by Professor Jonathan Coleman of Trinity College in collaboration with Professor Robert Young of the University of Manchester, potentially offers exciting possibilities for applications in new, inexpensive devices and diagnostics in medicine and other sectors," said a statement Thursday from the University of Manchester.

The team's findings have been published in the leading journal Science.

Prof Coleman from Trinity's School of Physics along with postdoctoral researcher Conor Boland, discovered that the electrical resistance of putty infused with graphene ('G-putty') was extremely sensitive to the slightest deformation or impact.

They mounted the G-putty onto the chest and neck of human subjects and used it to measure breathing, pulse and even blood pressure. It showed unprecedented sensitivity as a sensor for strain and pressure, hundreds of times more sensitive than current sensors.

"The G-putty also works as a very sensitive impact sensor, able to detect the footsteps of small spiders. It is believed that this material will find applications in a range of medical devices," the statement added.

Young, professor of polymer science and technology at Manchester said: "The endless list of potential applications of graphene, a material first isolated in Manchester, never ceases to amaze me."

"We have now developed a new high-performance sensing material, 'G-putty', that can monitor deformation, pressure and impact at a level of sensitivity that is so precise that it allows even the footsteps of small spiders to be monitored,"said the researcher.

"It will have many future applications in sensors, particularly in the field of healthcare."

The material was developed at Trinity College and the NGI contributed to the work through analysing the structure of the material using the facilities available at the world-leading institute.

Manchester-based scientists were then able to develop a mathematical model of the deformation of the material to explain the effect of its structure upon its mechanical and electrical properties.

Prof Coleman said: "What we are excited about is the unexpected behavior we found when we added graphene to the polymer, boric acid-treated polysilicone. This material is well known as the children's toy Silly Putty. It is different from familiar materials in that it flows like a viscous liquid when deformed slowly but bounces like an elastic solid when thrown against a surface."

"When we added the graphene to the silly putty, it caused it to conduct electricity, but in a very unusual way. This unique discovery will open up major possibilities in sensor manufacturing worldwide." Endit