Researchers at Rice University, United States, have published a paper in the journal ACS Nano, that shows graphene can be made from just about anything, even Girl Scout Cookies. Graphene, they said, could be made from almost any carbon source, including food, insects and waste. Rice graduate students Gedeng Ruan, lead author of the paper, and Zhengzong Sun calculated that a box of traditional shortbread Girl Scout Cookies could, at the then-commercial rate for pristine graphene, turn a $15 billion profit. James Tour, T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer, said, the experiment with the Girl Scout Cookies “has a lot to do with current research topics in academia and in industry. They [the Girl Scouts] learned that carbon — or any element — in one form can be inexpensive and in another form can be very expensive.” Tour said he expects the price of graphene would drop quickly as commercial interests develop methods to manufacture it in bulk.
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