By Anupum Pant
Since you’d have no practical use for them at home, I can’t imagine why you’d want to make carbon nanoparticles at home, but it sure sounds interesting. Grinding a chunk of carbon isn’t the way to go because after a certain point the size of particles stop getting smaller. Buying the nanopowder is definitely expensive. So, what should you do?
Well, scientists from University of Illinois have figured out an incredibly simple way to produce them at home. All you’d need for this is a little honey and a microwave.
The result is very tiny particles, of about 8 nm in size each.
“If you have a microwave and honey or molasses, you can pretty much make these particles at home”
Says Dipanjan Pan
via [UOI]
Tried this, as the possible basis for a lab experiment for high school kids. Mased on info from another site, indicating that you use BOTH molasses AND honey, i mixed them 1:1 and placed the mixture in a pyrex bowl. 15g of each . The bowl goes into the microwave. It smokes a little for the first 2.5 minutes, then suddenly smokes like a wet log on a hot fire.
Turned it off, let it cool. No powder. Just a very black, pure, crispy chunk of char.
Grinding it produces progressively finer particles, that’s obvious to the eye. Is the idea that the 8nm particle size is the ultimate molecular size after grinding and grinding… and grinding and grinding?
Is it also assumed that if i just grind, say, a wood chunk, that i will never attain the same nano scale?
Anyone know the best way to grind this in a kitchen?