In 2004, scientists at the University of Manchester first separated graphene, an ultra-strong material made up of single-layer carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice. Graphene has been a revolutionary discovery with unique properties useful in many fields. It is believed that about 1.9% of the carbon in the interstellar medium exists in the form of graphene.
It has been discovered that there may be a significant amount of graphene on the surface of the Moon. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have found natural graphene on the Moon with a special thin-layer structure. This discovery could change our understanding of the formation of the Moon and contribute to new methods of producing graphene for applications in electronics, energy saving and construction.
The study was led by Professors Wei Zhang and Meng Zou of Jilin University and other scientists from several key laboratories. Their results were published in the National Science Review.
For decades, it was believed that the Earth-Moon system was formed by a giant collision with a Mars-sized body about 4.4 billion years ago. This theory is supported by analysis of lunar rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts, which indicate their poor carbon content. However, new research points to the presence of indigenous carbon on the Moon, as confirmed by analysis of one of the Apollo 17 samples, which contains graphite.
For their study, the team spectroscopically analyzed a sample of lunar soil obtained by the Chang’e-5 mission in 2020. It was China’s third robotic mission to the Moon that returned a soil sample. The spectra showed iron bonding in the carbon-rich section of the sample, indicating the formation of graphene. Further analysis using advanced microscopic techniques confirmed that the carbon in the sample was graphene flakes two to seven layers thick.
The team suggests that graphene may have formed during volcanic activity early in the Moon’s history, when it was geologically active. Another option is that graphene was formed by meteorite impacts, which created an environment of high temperature and pressure similar to volcanic activity.
“Graphene is embedded as individual flakes or formed as part of a carbon shell enclosing the mineral particles. Our result reveals one typical structure of indigenous carbon in the Moon and its formation mechanism has been proposed. This finding may reinvent the understanding of chemical components, geography episodes and the history of the Moon,” the researchers noted.
These findings could have a significant impact on research on Earth, where graphene is being studied for applications ranging from electronics to materials science. They may also be useful for future missions aimed at developing permanent infrastructure on the Moon. NASA’s Artemis programs, ESA’s Moon Village initiative, and China’s plan to build an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) may include experiments to study the properties and uses of graphene, particularly for making lunar habitats.
We previously reported on how an 18-kilometer layer of diamonds may be hiding in the depths of Mercury.
According to sciencealert.com
