Graphene Geology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

In the first three industrial revolutions, the role played by Geology was restricted to the supply of energy and mineral resources. The popularization of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has been hampered by the technological limitation of traditional raw and processed materials. In this sense, nanotechnology appears as a potential alternative to provide materials with properties that allow wide implementation of Industry 4.0 initiatives. The hitherto unprecedented technological properties of graphene made it emerge as an exponent raw material for high-tech devices. Among the materials currently studied, it is the one that has thus far presented the most alternatives for being obtained directly from geological precursors. Since the last decade, 'geological thinking' has been included in the contemporary conception of the production of advanced materials to help in the issue of popularizing the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0, through the abundant and cheap availability of nanomaterials. Two forms of geological thinking in this regard are (i) the production of graphene and its derived materials from untreated mineral precursors, and (ii) the extraction of nanominerals directly from geological deposits.