Researchers from the University of Osnabrück and the University of Duisburg-Essen have studied the hydration layers trapped between graphene and a hydrophilic substrate - when graphene is produced using exfoliation on a hydrophilic substrate. While it is possible to reduce that hydration layer (by heating it), the researchers demonstrated that it is principally impossible to completely drive this hydration layer out of the confined space.

This layer will always influence the properties of the graphene on top of it. The researchers further demonstrated that it is possible to accelerate and to control the reorganization of the water (by 2D Ostwald ripening) that is present within the first hydration layer. Using this method, one can create "nanoblisters" filled with condensed fluid water. These nanoblisters could actually be a very suitable candidates for both storage and release of chemicals in aqueous environment.

Haydale published a research showing that its functionalised graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) significantly improve the nanoreinforcement of resin. This research was conducted conducted by the Material Science Department at AeroSpace Corporation.

According to the report, graphene can significantly strengthen toughened epoxy composites. The reported increases are >2x in tensile strength and modulus of an epoxy composite using a number of Haydale's HDPlas O2-functionalised GNP. The addition of increasing amounts of GNP resulted in strength increases of over 125% and toughness improvements of 100% over that of similarly cured, unreinforced material.

Researchers from Oxford, Stanford and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered a new 3D material (Na3Bi) that behaves like graphene. While it is very unstable, this is still a significant discovery as it shows that it's possible to find 3D materials that have similar properties to graphene.

The fact that graphene is a single sheet of atoms (a 2D material) makes it difficult to work with. A 3D material will be easier to handle, and this is why the researchers are excited about their discovery. The new material, a sodium-bismuth compound, is a three-dimensional topological Dirac semimetal - that has a unique behavior of its electrons (it's actually represents a new quantum state of matter).