In the ancient times, there had to be a way too keep foods fresh enough for trade. This was extremely difficult because traders often traveled vast journeys in scorching temperatures to complete a transaction. Their techniques required salt and various spices to preserve their foods, but now we have evolved from these primitive techniques. Modern techniques primarily depend on refrigeration and packaging. However, scientists at The University of Manchester have a found a way to use graphene, the "strongest material known to man," to improve the way we preserve food.
Dr. Rahul Nair and Nobel laureate, Sir Andre Geim, are leaders of the team at The University of Manchester who have found that adding oxygen to graphene will create graphene oxide, which can be used as a paint coating. This graphene paint coating is impermeable to gases and liquids, thus making it perfect for food preservation. The fact that is is also impermeable to powerful chemicals allows it to protect metals from corrosion. Lastly, because graphene oxide films have small passage ways known as nanocapillaries, which could also improve water filtration.
I was drawn to this article due to the fact that there are so many food safety issues in the world, primarily due to packaging. It was interesting to see that scientists may have found a solution, which I hope is used by many industries in the future.
Submitted by Christopher Castillo
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