It all starts with a very thin film of plastic. Changsheng Xiang is a nanotechnology researcher at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He says the composite plastic with graphene can be stretched many times its normal size without breaking.

“The film is very strong and is also very flexible. So you see we can stretch it to this extent and, actually, it can go to 700 percent of its original.”

Researchers have made the plastic composite strong by adding thin pieces, or ribbons, of graphene. The ribbons block passageways between molecules that normally exist in plastic. The researchers found that adding these nano-ribbons makes it 1,000 times harder for gases to escape.

Rice University Chemistry Professor James Tour says making graphene in large amounts is not yet practical. But he says one day it may be cost less than other methods for making gas-leak resistant containers.

When added to something like a plastic soda bottle, the graphene would hold the carbon dioxide gas inside the bottle for much longer. It can also keep oxygen out. This may keep foods fresher for longer periods.

Other uses could include making containers that hold natural gas for shipment, limiting loss. Fuel tanks using the technology could be made in large unusual shapes to fit existing spaces in vehicles instead of taking up space as big tanks.

“Instead of having the tank in a sausage shape that takes up a lot of area of the trunk, is to make the tank conform, in other words, make it like tubes, make it like intestines that could snake through different areas.”