May 2016

A Chinese non-governmental organization referred to as China International Graphene Industry Union is to be established in September this year. It will be a platform for international and domestic cooperation among businesses, researchers and financial institutions.

The association will aim to set evaluation and quality standards for the industry and lay the foundation for research and business development, and help commercialize research findings.

The European NanoMaster project (a EC Seventh Framework funded project which started on December 2011 and includes a total of 14 partners, including AIMPLAS), has developed improved graphene, nanographite and expanded graphite masterbatches (or concentrates), offering the chance to use these particles in the conventional industry of plastics processing, as well as in additive manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing and laser sintering.

The particles can be used in injection and extrusion conventional processes and AM (powders for SLS and rods for 3D printing) to produce parts for cars, toys and electronic devices. While there is still a long way to go, NANOMASTER has provided valuable information regarding the behavior of these materials. The processing conditions have been optimized in each one of the manufacturing stages, with the collaboration of multinational companies, such as ROCHLING, PHILIPS and LEGO, who have developed parts for sectors such as toys, electrical- electronic and automotive industries. AIMPLAS has also developed materials for the new manufacturing technologies: rods for 3D printing and powder for laser sintering.

Thomas Swan has formed a partnership with Northumbria University's Newcastle Business School to help create new markets for its revolutionary new products and support graphene work.

Thomas Swan aims to improve its understanding of potential markets for a new range of advanced 2D materials, graphene included. The project is supported by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, which is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Grafoid has announced the formalization of a strategic green energy business alliance branded as the 2GL Platform. The collaborative agreement pioneers the unification of the development of materials, technologies and processes for next generation energy applications under a shared vision and direction.

This business alliance involves collaboration between Grafoid, Focus Graphite, Stria Lithium (a junior mining exploration company with an expanding technology focus in lithium metal and foil) and Braille Battery (a leading manufacturer and seller of ultra-lightweight high performance AGM and lithium-ion batteries).

Scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, and Tohoku University (Japan) have developed a new type of graphene-based transistor and using modelling they have demonstrated that it has ultralow power consumption compared with other similar transistor devices. Reducing power consumption enables the clock speed of processors to be increased, according to calculations, to as high as two orders of magnitude, since the electronic components heat up less.

Building transistors that are capable of switching at low voltages (less than 0.5 volts) is one of the major challenges of modern electronics. Tunnel transistors seem to be the most promising candidates to solve this problem. Unlike in conventional transistors, where electrons jump through the energy barrier, in tunnel transistors the electrons filter through the barrier due to the quantum tunneling effect. However, in most semiconductors the tunneling current is very small and this prevents transistors that are based on these materials from being used in real circuits.

Researchers from the University of Groningen and the University of Manchester have directly detected the Peltier effect in graphene that is either one or two atoms thick. The Peltier effect is an example of Thermoelectrics: the field of study that deals with situations in which a temperature difference creates an electric potential, or vice versa. In this effect, a temperature difference appears when a voltage is applied between two electrodes connected to a semiconductor material. The team unambiguously showed that the effect can be switched from heating to cooling by tuning the type and density of the charge carriers inside the material.

The researchers used graphene because of its 2D nature, and graphene is a wonderful candidate for demonstrating a fully tuneable Peltier effect. The electrical contacts to graphene allowed to electrically control the cooling and heating via the Peltier effect, and to detect this cooling and heating, the researchers constructed sensitive nanoscale thermometers that directly measured the temperature of electrons in graphene. This practical approach is said to be the first of its kind for 2D materials, and its sensitivity is a thousand times better than that of its predecessors, down to 0.1 milliKelvin.

CealTech aims to become a leading global producer of high volume, high quality graphene, ultra-fine graphite and fine graphite. Production will be done by CealTech's independently-developed FORZA 3D graphene production unit (patent pending).

The FORZA prototype unit is currently under development and should be ready for operation by October 2016. CealTech's daily single layer graphene production capabilities starting October 2016 will be 1600m², and are planned to grow to 150,000 m² starting 2020.

Researchers from Brazil suggest a new way to study the changes generated by oxygenated groups in Graphene Oxide using Coronene as a model molecule.

The researcher ran several experiments and measurements on a series of functionalized coronene molecules, and say that these results provide useful data for the analysis of IR and Raman spectra of GO. The researcher say that the Coronene could provide a useful model to study GO features.

Haydale has announced a collaboration agreement with Graphit Kropfmuhl GmbH, part of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group and an affiliate of Alterna Capital Partners. The Agreement focuses on the development of new value added nano-material products using Haydale's HDPlas functionalization process and certain AMG graphitic feedstock material primarily from its GK mine in Sri Lanka.

Haydale will initially supply an R&D reactor (HT60) and a larger capacity reactor (HT200) to GK for use under the Agreement. The initial contract value for the supply of the reactors is payable to Haydale on the normal machine supply basis. Subject to reaching the agreed milestones, the majority of the revenue is scheduled to be received in the current financial year and is expected to constitute a significant proportion of the Group’s revenues for the year ended 30 June 2016.

Graphene 3D Lab has announced a new class of graphene materials with exceptional oil absorbance properties. The Company has commissioned a new production reactor that results in a 5-fold increase in the production capabilities of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide; Using this extended capacity, the Company produced a new class of materials: Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide Foams. These foams are in the class of ultralight materials and have density of approximately 20 mg/cm 3 , which is only about 17 times heavier than air.

These new materials are able to hold up to 3,500%-8,000% of their own weight of organic solvents and oils, all while being unaffected by water. This attribute could be significant in minimizing the damage caused by oil spills. Due to its high oil absorption capacity, these porous solid state foams are an excellent solution for fast and effective oil clean-up. In addition, they may also have commercial application in energy storage devices, chemical catalysts and ultrasensitive sensors.