Researchers from the University of Cincinnati say that adding even a small fraction of graphene flakes to a polymer-blend bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell can improve the performance of those solar cells. In fact, the efficiency increased threefold compared to the same cell without graphene.

The researchers explain that graphene's very high charge conductivity helps to maximize the energy absorbed by the plastic solar cell. The performance of these cells is still "well below" the highest efficiency achieved in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices.

Researchers from Harvard University, FEI Corporation and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, in collaboration with Graphenea, invented a new atomic chisel made from a single silicon atom that can be used to make pores or nanostructures in graphene. This can be used to create clear edges for nanoribbons, open nanopres for DNA sequencing and fabricate a host of nanostructures for use in future molecular electronics devices and make nanopores for DNA sequencing applications.

The atomic "chisel" is made from a silicon atom and is controlled by a high-energy beam in a transmission electron microscope. This produces a catalytic wedge. The kinetic energy from the electron beam helps to selectively chip off carbon atoms from the graphene lattice one by one so we obtain nice clean holes or edges in the carbon material.