Researchers at Rice University reached the conclusion that grain boundaries (the nanoscale places where individual grains of graphene stitch the sheet together), which are at times considered defects, may in some cases toughen polycrystalline sheets and may also create a band gap.

The scientists explain that at certain angles, these meandering boundaries relieve stress that would otherwise weaken the sheet. Alleviating this stress can enhance graphene's strength, compared to straight boundaries. 

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University and universities in China and Japan suggested a new carbon allotrope called "penta-graphene" (a five-sided variation on the familiar six-sided graphene structure), speculated to have several advantages compared to traditional graphene.

Currently in the computer modelling phase, the material appears to be dynamically, thermally and mechanically stable. The researchers claim that the material might outperform graphene in certain applications, as it would be mechanically stable, possess very high strength, and be capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Kelvin. 

A researcher from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has been awarded $500,000 by the National Science Foundation to develop graphene-based corrosion-resistant coatings.

The scientists started his research about two years ago while collaborating with graphene experts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. His work on corrosion-resistant coatings attempts to help metal resist rust, thus offering a solution for microbial corrosion on infrastructure, which costs the U.S. nearly $1 billion annually, accounting for 20 to 40 percent of the nation's total corrosion costs.

Applied Graphene Materials states that early results for the first half of the current financial year suggest a performance that meets the company's expectations, with net cash of approximately £6.6m at the period end, January 31.

According to the company, operational priorities are customer sampling, developing customer relationships, performance data generation and ongoing enhancements to the manufacturing and dispersion processes. A reported 90% of AGM’s ongoing engagements are with its three core target markets of advanced composites, coatings and functional fluids.

Canadian Elcora Resources Corp. announced the beginning of sample testing for potential graphite clients, and started testing purified Elcora graphite for graphene, batteries and high-end expandable graphite.

The company plans to take several steps to reach their goals: reducing the particle size of the graphite to maintain crystal morphology and perform separations techniques to upgrade the graphite, pursuing contaminant removal methods, and testing expansion ratio, activation temperatures, surface area and performance in lithium ion battery applications and graphene preparation for quality testing. 

The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute recently purchased plasma etch equipment and deposition systems from Oxford Instruments.

These tools (PlasmaPro^® PECVD and ICP-CVD deposition tools and PlasmaPro ICP etch tools) are to facilitate graphene and 2D materials' processing, and enable the fabrication of tailored substrates for graphene such as SiN membranes which are useful for both fundamental and applied research on graphene and 2D materials.

Angstron materials was featured on the Discovery Channel show Trending Today, so here is their interview that gives an overview of the company, its products and operation:

An interview with Group NanoXplore at a recent IDTechEX event shed light on some of the NanoXplore's products, activities and goals:

Scientists at the Groningen Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials made a possibly valuable progress in allowing simpler, scalable graphene production by growing graphene on copper oxide.

The scientists analyzed a sample of graphene on copper and witnesses the presence of copper oxide alongside the copper. Since oxidized metals sometimes tend to leave the properties of graphene unaltered, the scientists studied this further and managed to successfully grow graphene on copper oxide. The team also reports that graphene on copper oxide is decoupled from the substrate, which means that it preserves its electronic properties. 

Researchers at the Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics at Imperial College London (ICL) cooperated with teams from the University of Warwick, the University of Bath, and the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela to use graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) together with small amounts of a responsive polymer (a polymer that changes upon activation of a 'chemical switch'), to formulate water based ink or pastes for 3D printing applications.

The scientists say that their formulations sport the required flow and physical properties for 3D printing (namely, the ability to flow through miniature nozzles but set immediately after that), for a technique called direct ink writing (DIW), robocasting or direct write assembly (DWA). This technique is based on the continuous deposition of a filament following a computer design.