“Researchers at Rice University say they have produced edible graphene, which could serve as the basis of an entirely new class of edible electronics.
Rice chemists have found a way to print graphene onto common items such as bread or potatoes, as well as certain fabric and paper.
Rice professor James Tour notes the material is not ink, but a process of “taking the material [i.e., food items, paper, clothes, etc.] itself and converting it into graphene.”
Tour thinks an early market for this newly-discovered method could be flexible wearable electronics.
“Very often, we don’t see the advantage of something until we make it available,” he says. “Perhaps all food will have a tiny [radio-frequency identification] tag that gives you information about where it’s been, how long it’s been stored, its country and city of origin, and the path it took to get to your table.”“