Jeremy Foutch”s accidental discovery of a new form of carbon took place in a garage while he was testing oil shale for precious metals.
Foutch, a University of Idaho chemistry graduate student, was forced to unexpectedly stop the tests on oil shale after the garage filled with a foul smell. When he opened the crucible, a melting pot used for high-temperature chemical processes, he found the insides coated with a metallic substance similar to a mirror.
Testing determined the substance was not a precious metal, but was instead a carbon deposit.
“It was very, very strange,” Foutch said. “I hadn”t seen any carbon that looked like that before.”
The substance conducted electricity, causing Foutch to initially think the substance was some form of graphene. Upon returning to UI, Foutch contacted Frank Cheng, a UI chemistry professor, to discuss the mystery substance.
Further testing on the substance returned different results from any known chemical substance, Foutch said.
Foutch said the testing did determine that the substance was a new allotrope of carbon, similar to charcoal, graphite or diamonds.
“I expect that that will be getting a bunch of attention in the next few years, because (discovering a new allotrope) is no small claim,” Foutch said.
Cheng named the new carbon allotrope Graphene from University of Idaho Thermolyzed Asphalt Reaction, or GUITAR for short.
“I have some regrets,” Cheng said. “I wish I”d come up with another acronym, other than a musical instrument.”
A benefit of GUITAR is that it can be made out of shale oil, crude oil, roofing tar, peanuts, taco chips and other materials, Cheng said. This makes GUITAR cheaper to produce than other comparable materials, he said.
Cheng said he and UI Phyiscs Professor David McIlroy along with Professor of Renewable Resources Armando McDonald are collaborating to exploring possible commercial uses for GUITAR. Cheng said he sees potential applications for energy storage, water purification and energy conversion.
Cheng and McIlroy recently received $55,000 from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust to fund the project, as well as efforts to prepare the electrodes for commercial licensing, with additional funding from the university”s President”s Office.
McIlroy said they would not have applied for the grant if it wasn”t for the encouragement of UI President Chuck Staben.
“President Staben initiated the UI foundation to come to us and ask “Why aren”t you putting something in?”” McIlroy said.
Cheng said McDonald”s knowledge of natural products, economies of scale and chemistry assist with the project.
McIlroy also invented nanosprings, which are tiny coils of silica 500 times thinner than a human hair, for use in electrodes. Silica is not conductive, but by coating the nanosprings with GUITAR, Cheng said they can be used for many more things. The high surface area of the nanosprings and the electric conductivity are a natural fit, Cheng said.
Foutch said he thinks this combination could be useful in batteries.
Foutch said that tests comparing a GUITAR battery to a battery of similar construction showed that GUITAR had superior conductivity. The reason for that is its parasitic current, he said.
When energy is generated in similar graphite-felt batteries, Foutch said 20-30 percent of energy is lost to the generation of hydrogen bubbles.
GUITAR batteries minimize hydrogen bubbling to about 5 percent, making them more efficient, he said.
Foutch said they are still exploring potential commercial applications.
Aleya Ericson can be reached at [email protected]