Wave-like heat dissipation in graphene

EPFL researchers investigated heat dissipation in graphene and other two-dimensional materials, and have shown that heat can propagate as a wave over very long distances. This discovery can provide a valuable tool for for cooling down circuits at the nanoscale, and contribute to the efforts to replace silicon in next-gen electronics.

2D sheets behave in unexpected ways compared to 3D ones, and understanding the propagation of heat in them is a challenge. The EPFL researchers demonstrated that heat can propagate without significant losses in 2D even at room temperature, thanks to the phenomenon of wave-like diffusion, called "second sound". In that case, all phonons (vibrations of atomes) move together in unison over very long distances. This could be of great value for future electronic components that use 2D materials. 

Read the full story Posted: Mar 09,2015

New 2D crystal might surpass graphene's electrical features

Researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Korea managed to synthesize a new multifunctional 2D ordered crystal structure, designated as C2N-h2D crystal, that they claim exhibits more enhanced electrical features than those of graphene. 

The thin-layered micrometre-sized 2D crystal was the result of a reaction between ​hexaaminobenzene trihydrochloride and ​hexaketocyclohexane octahydrate and it exhibits a strong semiconducting nature, as it has a large Ion/Ioff ratio that equals a fast switching speed for semiconducting devices. The Ion/Ioff ratio of the C2N-h2D crystal was confirmed to be 100 times more efficient than current silicone semiconductors in production.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 09,2015

Talga Resources to construct a graphene pilot line in Germany

Talga Resources announced its plan to construct a graphene demonstration plant in central Germany. The plant is to produce between 100 t/y and 200 t/y of graphene, with feedstock sourced from Talga’s Swedish projects. 

Talga says that the decision to proceed with a demonstration plant followed Talga’s success in moving its high-grade Swedish graphite ores from laboratory to bench top scale and replicating graphene process results in multiple countries with several parties. According to the company, the next stage of development will expand to a locked-cycle demonstration scale plant able to produce meaningful quantities of graphene and graphite for larger customer samples and material graphene sales in 2015. 

Read the full story Posted: Mar 04,2015

Graphene NanoChem launches commercial deployment of PlatsurF

Graphene NanoChem announced that it has launched the commercial deployment of its latest product offering, an oilfield recovery additive named PlatsurF through Scomi Oiltools, its joint venture partner. PlatsurF removes blockages caused by drilling residues or from production waste and reverses shortfalls in production caused by formation damage. The company states that smartfluids product "vastly improves" production rates in previously damaged wells with reduced waste generation.

Scomi will supply PlatsurF to the market, and has placed an order on behalf of an international oil company that is serviced by Scomi for an approximate 50 well drilling programme in Thailand using PlatsurF. Graphene NanoChem relays that the order will consist of an initial deployment of 40 drums of recovery additive for two wells in Thailand, as part of Scomi introducing the additive as a "product substitution".

Read the full story Posted: Mar 04,2015

Electrons' movement through graphene to be used for unique electronics

Scientists at the University of Basel demonstrated for the first time that electrons in graphene can be moved along a predefined path. This movement occurs without loss and could provide a basis for electronics applications.

Electrons are known to move through graphene practically undisturbed similar to rays of light. Attempts have been made to find a way to guide them, which the Basel team has now accomplished. The developed mechanism is based on a graphene property - combining an electrical field and a magnetic field makes the electrons move along a snake state. The line bends to the right, then to the left due to the sequence of positive and negative mass a phenomenon unique to graphene that could be used as a novel switch that can be incorporated into a wide variety of devices and operated simply by altering the magnetic field or the electrical field.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 04,2015

Can black phosphorus enhance optical communications more than graphene?

Researchers from the University of Minnesota used an ultrathin black phosphorus film of only 20 layers of atoms to demonstrate high-speed data communication on nanoscale optical circuits. They report that the devices show improved efficiency compared to graphene-based ones.

The University of Minnesota team created intricate optical circuits in silicon and then laid thin flakes of black phosphorus over these structures using facilities at the University's Minnesota Nano Center. The team showed that the performance of the black phosphorus photodetectors even rivals that of comparable devices made of germanium, considered the gold standard in on-chip photodetection.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 03,2015

2-DTech dives into research of graphene-silicon combo to replace copper for electronics coatings

2-DTech is spearheading a project to improve anti-corrosive coatings through incorporation of graphene via a scalable and commercially-viable process. Copper has been in extensive use for this purpose, but its disadvantages are enough for 2-DTech to explore the production of high crystalline quality silicon-doped graphene as a replacement.

The introduction of silicon as a dopant aims to fortify the multi-layer graphene’s domain boundaries. This could result in an improvement in anti-corrosive silicon-graphene conductive films for application on to copper substrates via thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD). The combination would create an extremely thin coating while protecting against corrosion without disrupting the intra-domain crystalline structure.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 02,2015

Haydale increases processing capabilities with new reactors

Haydale has recently ordered an additional significantly larger reactor, the HD200, to fulfill anticipated increased customer orders following successful sampling and supply from the smaller units.

The company also said that it has ordered a further three Rotovac HD60 units for delivery by the end of June and that the two new reactors delivered in December 2014 have become operational.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 02,2015

Chinese reports of a mass produced graphene-based cell phone

A website named Getinews reported The first mass produced graphene-enhanced phone. It is supposedly intended for a 30,000 piece production, and will contain graphene smartphone touch screen, battery and thermal films. The phone's core technology is provided by the Chongqing Institute of Technology and the Chinese Academy of green intelligent Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering.

According to reports, the graphene phone has a better touch performance and longer standby time and better thermal performance. While graphene-enhanced touchscreens are not unheard of, graphene batteries a little more of a stretch so it should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 02,2015

Artistic design of a graphene-enhanced super-jet

Designer Oscar Viñals has sketched out the designs for a concept aircraft called the "Progress Eagle", a plane that would utilize more economical and environmentally friendly technologies. In terms of materials, the plane would be comprised of carbon fiber, graphene, ceramic, aluminum, titanium, and shape-memory alloy materials.

The designs, of course, are completely artistic with no real intention of producing any time soon (not until later this century, if at all), but are extremely beautiful and worth taking a look at.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 02,2015