Brown University researchers developed a simple method of creating environments on which to culture cells using graphene, that relies on a technique that makes small wrinkles in graphene sheets. These textured surfaces for culturing cells in the lab manage to copy the intricate environment in which cells grow in the body.

Cell culture is usually done in the lab in petri dishes and on other flat surfaces. The body, however, creates much more complex environments for cells to grow. Research has shown that a cell’s physical surroundings can influence its shape, physiology, and even the expression of its genes, so scientists are looking for ways of culturing cells in lab conditions that are a bit more complex and close to body-made environments. The surfaces might also be used to test drugs in the lab, or perhaps as biomimetic surfaces for implantable tissue scaffolds or neural implants.

A group of researchers from Shanghai report that Coronene can be used as nucleation seeds for graphene synthesis using a low temperature CVD process. The Coronene greatly improved the homogeneity of monolayer graphene.

The researchers say that adding Coronene to the CVD process may offer cost advantages for large scale applications, and also higher quality graphene sheets. They also expect this process to help with synthesizing graphene/copper hybrid interconnects.

UK-based Thomas Swan is a privately held global chemical manufacturing company that currently has a 1kg per day pilot line as well as a vision of being the most trusted supplier of high quality graphene on the market. 

The company's plans for 2015 include expanding its graphene production capacity to 10 tonnes per year (supported by Horizon 2020 funding) and establishing collaborations to develop applications in printed electronics, touch panels and energy storage devices (supported by Innovate UK funding).

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory created graphene aerogel microlattices with an engineered architecture using a 3D printing technique known as direct ink writing. These lightweight aerogels have high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical stiffness and exhibit supercompressibility (up to 90% compressive strain). In addition, the researchers claim that these 3D printed graphene aerogel microlattices show great improvement over bulk graphene materials and much better mass transport.

A common problem in creating bulk graphene aerogels is the occurrence of a largely random pore structure, thus excluding the ability to tailor transport and additional mechanical properties of the material for specific applications such as batteries and sensors. Making graphene aerogels with engineered architectures is greatly assisted by 3D printing, which allows to design the pore structure of the aerogel, permitting control over many properties. This development, as per the scientists, could open up the design space for using aerogels in novel and creative applications.

Researchers at Australia's Swinburn University of Technology designed a graphene-based technique to create a 3D pop-up floating display. The scientists created nanoscale pixels of refractive index (the measure of the bending of light as it passes through a medium) made of reduced graphene oxide in a process that does not involve heat, which they say is important for the subsequent recording of the individual pixels for holograms and naked-eye 3D viewing.

The team explains that by changing the refractive index, it is possible to create many optical effects. This new technique can be leveraged to achieve compact and versatile optical components for controlling light and can create the wide-angle display necessary for mobile phones and tablets. The scientists believe that this new generation digital holographic 3D display technology could also have applications for military devices, entertainment, remote education, and medical diagnosis as well as lay foundation for future flexible and wearable display devices and transform them for 3D display.

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology has developed a transparent hybrid electronic device production technique for the manufacturing of wireless smart sensors. The is based on a combination of graphene and metal nanowires and the team says it maintains its electrical characteristics even when folded or pulled.

The smart sensor that is based on the device can be attached to various surfaces, even the human skin, for real-time monitoring of changes in biomaterials (like various proteins). The sensor wirelessly transmits the changes in biomaterials using its built-in antenna and maintains excellent flexibility even after long exposure to air and heat. The power required for the transmission and reception is supplied by its transmission antenna, and thus no battery is required.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego discovered a method to increase the amount of electric charge that can be stored in graphene, in a research that may provide a better understanding of how to improve the energy storage ability of capacitors for potential applications in cars, wind turbines, and solar power.

The team attempted to introduce more charge into a capacitor electrode using graphene as a model material for their tests. The idea is that increased charge leads to increased capacitance, which translates to increased energy storage.

Haydale recently developed a unique graphene functionalization test method, which is also quick, accurate and performed in-house. This test method helps determine the type and extent of functionalization present on graphene materials and could help change the way graphene assessment and quality control is done, as traditional methods ( like XPS, FTIR etc.) can be expensive, time consuming and require a high level of expertise.

The company’s new method provides a rapid, simple and repeatable test to confirm the effectiveness of functionalization processes. Furthermore, the method is able to indicate the level of functional groups added and to discriminate between different functional groups. Complimentary to traditional chemical characterization methods currently used by graphene industry, Haydale's new dispersion stability tester provides an affordable and reliable quality control tool for functionalized graphene process development and manufacturing.

Researchers at the University of Illinois designed a single-step method of creating textures in graphene ("crumpling") to allow for larger surface areas, thus tapping into graphene's benefits for electronics. The scientists believe that "crumpled" graphene may also be used as high surface area electrodes for batteries and supercapacitors. As a coating layer, the 3D graphene could allow omniphobic/anti-bacterial surfaces for advanced coating applications.

The "crumpling" process is based on a known shape-memory polymer substrate (a material capable of returning to its original shape after being distorted, mostly by thermal means). The thermoplastic nature of the substrate also allows for the crumpled graphene morphology to be arbitrarily re-flattened at the same elevated temperature for the crumpling process. 

Ionic Industries, a subsidiary of Strategic Energy Resources, announced the completion of an independent marketing report on the potential of its graphene-based SuperSand product. This product is meant to be a potential substitute for activated carbon and can offer equal or better performance at a lower (or at least comparable) cost.

The report yielded positive findings that support the company's decision to make SuperSand the first of its products to be produced by its planned graphene oxide manufacturing pilot plant, for which an engineering study is almost complete (with commencement of construction of the pilot plant planned for later in 2015).