| abstract |
An apparatus for the production of graphene by the delamination of a bulk laminar material (e.g. graphite) comprises: a pump (112, fig 5) for pumping a fluid suspension of solid particles towards core components 10. The core components comprise: a fluid conduit 12 having a principle axis for conveying said fluid, where the fluid conduit is arranged to direct fluid from the conduit against an impact head 16. The impact head has an impact face 18 perpendicular to the principle axis, and the impact head and conduit are arranged so that a variable gap 20 of between 500µm and 1µm results between an end of the conduit and the impact head, where the gap forms a continuous region surrounding the end of the conduit and coplanar with the impact head. An impact head surround 26 extends the region in which the fluid is constrained before exiting the core components. The impact head comprises material selected from the group: tungsten carbide, zirconia, silicon nitride, alumina, silicon carbide, cubic or wurtzite boron nitride and diamond. |