A collaborative team from Tohoku University and the University of Tokyo has designed a way to make graphene superconductive, which means electrons can flow through it with zero resistance. This can lead to significantly more efficient electronic devices, power lines, high-speed electronic devices and more.

While exciting, it is important to say that this demonstration of superconductivity in graphene occurred at a temperature of -269 degrees Celsius, and room temperature superconductivity is still far from attainable. However, this research does suggest that graphene could be used to build nano-sized, high-speed electronic devices.

Haydale has received £350,000 in research grants from the government, to accelerate the development of new products enhanced by the incorporation of functionalized graphene and other nanomaterials.

The grants are for five project areas:

1. The development of electrically conductive graphene-enhanced adhesives for aircraft structures.
2. The development of multi-functional graphene-enhanced composite materials that are not only capable of detecting the build-up of ice on structures, such as aircraft leading edges and wings, but can then be thermally activated in order to prevent ice build-up.
3. The development of graphene reinforced polyolefin materials for lightweight extruded products such as filaments for nets and filtration.
4. The development of graphene-enhanced epoxy resins with improved durability, wear resistance and thermal cycling performance.
5. The development of graphene-enhanced carbon-carbon composites materials for use in high-performance brake systems.

Graphene has great potential to improve various components used in mobile devices, from transparent flexible screens to next-gen batteries, through durable phone casings, sensors, and powerful processors. Don't miss our new article on graphene for the mobile industry!

The MWC 2016 the world's largest event for the mobile industry held in Barcelona, Spain, will feature an entire pavilion dedicated to graphene in regards to the mobile world, an exciting precedent that emphasizes the growing attention that graphene is receiving in the technological world. The Graphene-Info team will attend the MWC 2016. If you wish to schedule a meeting with us, contact us here.

A collaborative team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University (SBU), and the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute have developed a simple method for creating resilient, customized, and high-performing graphene: layering it on top of common glass. The scalable and inexpensive process may help pave the way for a new class of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices-from efficient solar cells to touch screens.

The team designed the proof-of-concept graphene devices on substrates made of soda-lime glass-the most common glass found in windows, bottles, and many other products. Unexpectedly, the sodium atoms in the glass had a powerful effect on the electronic properties of the graphene - it created high electron density in the graphene, which is essential to many processes and has been challenging to achieve. Also, the effect remained strong even when the devices were exposed to air for several weeks- a clear improvement over competing techniques.

Researchers at the University of Manchester have observed, for the first time, electrons in graphene that move like in a very viscous liquid, which may prompt a new approach to fundamental physics. The possibility of a highly viscous flow of electrons in metals was predicted several decades ago, but despite many efforts was never observed before.

Although it is believed that electrons in graphene can move 'ballistically', like bullets scattering only at graphene boundaries or other imperfections, it seems that the reality is not quite so simple; It was observed that the electric current in graphene did not flow along the applied electric field, as in other materials, but traveled backwards forming whirlpools where circular currents appeared. Such behavior is familiar for conventional liquids (such as water).

Elcora Advanced Materials has announced that it has started construction of its graphene production facility. Elcora is constructing its own graphene production facility in the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia to supply high quality graphene.

The plant is meant to have a modular design in which each "line" will be able to produce 100 kg of graphene per year. The plant will use a graphite precursor specially processed and refined for the Elcora graphene process within the vertically integrated supply chain.

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Santa Cruz have demonstrated what might be the world's first 3D-printed graphene composite aerogel supercapacitor, using a technique known as direct-ink writing. The researchers suggest that their ultra-lightweight graphene aerogel supercapacitors may open the door to novel designs of highly efficient energy storage systems for smartphones, wearables, implantable devices, electric cars and wireless sensors.

The key factor in developing these novel aerogels is creating an extrudable graphene oxide-based composite ink and modifying the 3D printing method to accommodate aerogel processing. The 3D-printed graphene composite aerogel (3D-GCA) electrodes are lightweight, highly conductive, and exhibit excellent electrochemical properties. Supercapacitors using these 3D-GCA electrodes with thicknesses on the order of millimeters display exceptional capacitive retention (ca. 90% from 0.5 to 10 A·g−1) and power densities (>4 kW·kg−1).

A collaborative theoretical and experimental study suggested that graphene sheets efficiently shield chemical interactions. This may hold promise for applications like quality improvement of 2D materials by "de-charging" charged defect centers located on the surface of carbon materials. Another important feature is the ability to control selectivity and activity of the supported metallic catalysts on the carbon substrate.

The team studied carbon materials with surface defects - an active species, that need to be protected. The experiments showed that the defect areas were reactive and retained high activity towards various molecules. However, as soon as the defects were covered with few layers of graphene flakes, the distribution of reactive centers became uniform (without localized reactivity centers typical for defect areas). Put simply, covering surface defects with graphene layers has decreased the influence of charged defects and made them "invisible" for chemical interactions at the molecular level.

Note: Xefro was issued an order of liquidation after a legal entanglement and claims of deceiving the public.

Xefro, the UK-based company that is developing a graphene-based heating system, has employed the services of European Circuits Limited (ECL) to design and manufacture the electronics for its innovative heating system. Test systems are currently under trial, and Xefro expects this to be the world’s first commercial heating system using graphene.

Graphene has been selected for the heating element because of its potential for extremely efficient energy transfer, and so the company expects reduced energy costs of up to 70%. The heating system will consist of a Central Heating Controller that will communicate via RF signals to a Hot Water Controller and to the various zones, each zone consisting of a radiator or at least one heating element with AC Power Controller and separate temperature sensors. The user interface for the entire system will be via a mobile app.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new solution-based, cost-effective way to wrap reduced graphene oxide around the surface of ultrathin transparent conducting copper nanowires. The technique aims to significantly improve the stability of the wires in air and reduce the amount of light scattered by the materials.

Thin films made of the wires might be used in optoelectronics devices, particularly in displays and flexible electronics. Metal nanowire films could make good replacements for the expensive and brittle indium tin oxide (ITO) in next-generation electronics, thanks to their excellent electrical and optical properties and the fact that they can be easily processed in solution.