Material Empire

"This is real?"

Saburo Hanaya looked at the magazine Yoshida Gen handed him, and asked with a dark face.

"I think... it should be true." Yoshida Gen bowed his head in response. It has already been published on Science, and if it is fake, it is really a big joke. However, in front of the chairman, Yoshida Gen still chose a slightly leeway answer, after all, he has shortcomings in this matter.

"Why did the Chinese take the lead? Didn't you say that we would be the first discoverers of graphene?" Saburo Hanaya threw the magazine on the table and asked angrily.

The earliest predictions about the material graphene can be traced back to 1947. By 1987, the word Graphene had been coined to refer to graphite sheets with a single-layer structure, also known as graphene. In the past few years, many scientists and chemical material companies have tried to prepare graphene, but Xinzuka Chemical is the most diligent among them.

Since there are still many controversies about whether graphene really exists, most scholars have not invested too much energy in this area, especially it is difficult to obtain sufficient financial support, so the research progress can be imagined. Gen Yoshida of Shinzuka Chemical is a fanatical believer in graphene. He firmly believes that this two-dimensional structure of the material can exist. He succeeded in persuading Saburo Hanatani to enable Shinzuka Chemical to invest a huge amount of money in this field for many years.

Knowing that other colleagues do not have such good conditions to conduct graphene research, Yoshida Gen has always assured Saburo Hanaya that as long as graphene really exists, Shinzuka Chemical will be the first in the world to discover this kind of graphene. The organization of materials, and has the most critical patented technology on graphene. That's what he said, and he also thought that way, if there was no monster like Qin Hai, perhaps Yoshida Gen's prophecy would have come true.

What makes Qin Hai stronger than Gen Yoshida is that he has a golden finger of foresight, able to point out a correct direction, coupled with sufficient financial support, this enables the Anhe Institute of Materials to be able to pick up the company before Xinzuka Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. The pearl of graphene. Of course, Nie Sen's hard work is also an important factor for the rapid achievement of graphene research. In contrast, Yoshida Gen was a little slack in research and development because he was not aware of the existence of competitors, which made Nie Sen drill There is a loophole.

Seeing that Nie Sen proposed in the article that the first graphene fragments were obtained by mechanical exfoliation, Gen. Yoshida almost had the desire to go berserk. The equipment he owns is much more advanced than Nie Sen's, and the experimental plan he designed is much more complicated than Nie Sen's, but he didn't expect that Nie Sen would take the lead.

"We have been experimenting with the epitaxial growth of silicon carbide to prepare graphene, and in fact, we have come very close to success. The method used by the Chinese is an accident. They are actually cleaning up graphite debris with tape. Luckily I obtained some single-layer graphite flakes..." Yoshida Gen explained to Saburo Hanaya in a low voice.

"But they have also developed two methods of industrial preparation, how can this be explained?" Saburo Huagu pointed to the text in the magazine and asked.

"This..." Yoshida Gen didn't know what to say. In his heart, he wished to bring out the eight generations of Nie Sen's ancestors to greet him. Has anyone ever heard of two industrial preparation methods being proposed at the same time when releasing one material? Isn't this intentionally blocking the way of others?

According to the general law of scientific research, a material will first be prepared in the laboratory, at this time, scientists will write articles announcing the existence of this material. Subsequently, interested scientists and companies around the world will start to pay attention to this material and carry out research on industrial preparation. If this procedure is followed, then even if Nie Sen discovered graphene first, Gen Yoshida would be able to quickly complete the development of the industrial preparation process by virtue of his rich experience and the strong strength of Xinzuka Chemical, making Xinzuka Chemical the first to obtain industrial production of graphite ene technology.

Unexpectedly, Nie Sen didn't follow the routine at all. After he discovered graphene in the laboratory, he adopted a secretive method and dragged it until the industrial preparation process was completed before launching it together. When others just heard about the advent of graphene, the Anhe School of Materials has already submitted patent applications for two preparation processes to major patent agencies. How can others play with this?

"What do you think of the two preparation processes proposed by the Chinese?" Saburo Hanaya asked. He knew that there was no point in blaming Gen Yoshida at this time. Scientific research sometimes requires some luck, and there is nothing that is sure. What needs to be done now is to quickly regain the upper hand and not let the graphene market fall into the hands of the Chinese.

"They have monopolized the two most effective preparation methods." Yoshida Geng said with a wry smile, "Chemical vapor deposition is the main process for us to produce carbon nanotubes. As long as we understand the structural characteristics of graphene, we can quickly In a short period of time, a process for producing graphene by vapor deposition was developed. But now that the Chinese have applied for a patent in advance, it is very difficult for us to bypass their method and propose another vapor-phase process.”

"Baga!" Saburo Hanagu gritted his teeth, "This kind of behavior of the Chinese is really shameless. They have no right to block the news of graphene. This is an unfair behavior."

Listening to Saburo Hanaya's roar, Gen Yoshida remained silent, and he didn't know what to say. There is no such thing as fairness or unfairness in commercial matters. To blame, there is also a commercial company behind Nie Sen, who has calculated all the relevant interests clearly. If Nie Sen was just a professor in a university, then he would definitely not have such scheming, it would be impossible to keep such an important discovery in his hands for such a long time.

"Yoshida-kun, do you understand this Nie Sen? Is it possible for us to buy the patent of the vapor phase process from him?" asked the sales manager Yoshiki Morioka who was sitting on the side. Like Saburo Hanaya, he cared about It's also a question of how to get the upper hand.

"I didn't know this Nie Sen before. However, I have learned that he is a professor of China Anhe Institute of Materials, and the sponsor of Anhe Institute of Materials is China Daqin Industry Group. This enterprise has great ambitions in materials. .To buy this patent from them, I don't think it is possible." Yoshida Gen said.

"Daqin Industrial Group?" Saburo Huagu frowned, "I seem to have heard the name of this company."

"I know this company." Yoshiki Morioka replied, "It is a competitor of Kucera Company, and the ceramic knives produced by Kucera Company were defeated by it. This company is in steel, ceramics, chemical materials, etc. It has made achievements in all aspects, and its ultra-filtration membrane even beat the German Warren Group."

"It turned out to be it, I remembered." Saburo Huagu nodded, "So, this is an opponent worthy of our vigilance."

The Kucera company has stumbled in ceramic knives. Although the company is secretive about the whole story, people in the same circle can still understand some of the situation. Kucera Company is a ceramics company, and various chemical raw materials are used in the production of modern ceramics, including some solvents, gels, etc., some of which are purchased from Xinzuka Chemical, so the daily exchanges between the two companies a lot of. Saburo Hanagu knew about the failure of Kucera Company at the first time, and also remembered the Daqin Group who caused it.

A Chinese company that can wrestle with Kucera Company and successfully bring Kucera Company into the pit is worthy of Saburo Hanatani's attention. Now that he heard that the patent for the industrial preparation of graphene was in the hands of the Daqin Group, Saburo Hanagu's fighting spirit was immediately aroused.

"The production patent of graphene falls into the hands of a company like Daqin Group, which poses a great threat to us." Saburo Hanaya said, "If we cannot develop our own graphene production process in a short period of time, then the The market will be monopolized by the Chinese, and even if we can squeeze them out in the future, the profits of the market have already been taken by them.”

Any new technology is the most lucrative when it comes out. There are no other competitors in the market, and companies with technology can arbitrarily raise the price of their products, adopt the so-called "oil skimming" method, and earn excess profits. When other companies develop similar technologies, the market supply will gradually become abundant, and the price of the product will drop accordingly. At this time, everyone can only earn hard money without much profit.

As a powerful enterprise, Xinzuka Chemical can often become a leader in the market, and understands the value of first-mover advantage very well. This time, seeing that the Chinese took the lead, and it was a Chinese company with great market ambitions, how could Saburo Hanaya not be in a hurry.

"Yoshida-kun, are there no other techniques besides the two preparation techniques proposed by the Chinese?" Morioka Yoshiki asked Yoshida Gen.

"I think it should exist." Genji Yoshida said bravely, "However, the vapor phase deposition method and the redox method should be the two simplest methods. Whether other methods are feasible, we need to conduct experiments."

"From now on, you must devote all your energy to developing a new graphene process. I hope to get an effective process within three months. As for the funding, feel free to bring it up." Hua Gu Saburo stared at Gen Yoshida with a sad look, and ordered.

"Hi!" Yoshida Gen tried hard to agree, but he was far from being so optimistic in his heart.