After announcing its collaboration with Reliance last month, to develop graphene-enhanced elastomer materials, Vorbeck Materials launches Vor-flex Engineered HNBR Elastomer: Rubber Reinforced with Vor-x Graphene.

The Vor-flex 50 is planned to be the first in a new family of graphene-enhanced, engineered elastomer products made using Vorbeck’s proprietary Vor-x technology. Vor-x provides Vor-flex 50‘s hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) with extreme strength at low deformation (high modulus) and the ability to withstand temperature spikes up to 200 °F above the rated working temperature of HNBR. Vor-flex 50 has a nominal tensile strength of 3500 psi and a Shore A hardness of 88.

The Sixth Element, a leading producer of graphene products based in China, supported its partner Shangdong Hengyu Technology Group, a leading Chinese tyre manufacturer, in developing tyre formulations proving the positive impact of graphene oxide on the performance of tyres as an example for rubber products.

Adding only a very small amount of The Sixth Elements’ SE2430 to the formulations of the tyre tread, the rate of tyre wear decreased by more than 25%, while tear strength was more than doubled. The Sixth Element Materials Technology presented the new developed heavy duty tyre Horizon HD type during the GRAPHCHINA 2016 conference.

Saint Jean Carbon, a carbon science company engaged in the exploration of natural graphite properties and related carbon products, has announced that it has produced two samples of single layer graphene (1) dispersion 20 mL, 0.1%, with pure 100 mL water and (2) a 50 mg of powder.

The material is said to have been produced without any chemicals or any mechanical systems that would harm the high order of carbon structure and wettability. The material has been sent to National Research Council and will be used to help set the national standard for graphene production and quality.

Vorbeck Materials and Bluewater Defense (a leading manufacturer of protective clothing, uniforms and equipage for the United States Department of Defense) recently exhibited at AUSA 2016 their graphene-enhanced next-gen, high performance wearable antennas for military, tactical and commercial use in apparel and equipment, featuring multiple communication bands including LTE capabilities.

Bluewater and Vorbeck partnered to offer robust, high-gain, low-cost, and discrete conformal printed graphene antennas embedded in military apparel and backpacks. Its reported benefits include:

• Increase existing cell phone coverage by up to 200%
• Significant improvements of upload and download speeds
• Omni-directional coverage through the deployment of an array of antennas
• Supports wide frequency range from 800-3000 Mhz
• Durable, flexible, washable and non-corrosive -- environmentally friendly
• Increased battery life by reducing operating power

Haydale recently announced that it raised around £2 million to finance an acquisition, and that it intends to raise a further £500,000. Haydale now announced that the 2nd raise was heavily over-subscribed and it successfully raise those £500,000.

Haydale is set to acquire ACMC, a US-based silicon carbide whisker manufacturer, for $7 million in a cash and shares deal, and to finance the deal Haydale raised the £2.6 million. Haydale believes that acquiring a complementary business offering significant growth potential and synergistic products is the best way to secure US business.

A team of scientists at Washington University has developed a technique for using sheets of graphene oxide to obtain drinkable water using sunlight; The technique involves heating dirty water to a boil - creating purified steam that can be collected and safely consumed.

The team has devised a method of heat localization using bilayered biofoam composed of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The bilayer structure was created by growing Gluconacetobacter hansenii bacteria in the presence of graphene oxide flakes.

Graphene 3D Lab, a leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary composites and coatings based on graphene and other advanced materials, recently announced the release of a new product. The Company will now offer a filament for 3D printing that is both highly electrically conductive and flexible.

G3L reports that the enhanced properties of this product make it ideal for applications involving flexible sensors, electromagnetic/radiofrequency shielding, flexible conductive traces and electrodes to be used in wearable electronics. This new material will be available for purchase in 1.75mm diameter 100 gram spools at the Company's on-line store, www.blackmagic3D.com, under the trade name of "Conductive Flexible TPU Filament".

Scientists from Seoul National University have developed a graphene-enhanced bio-electric tongue that can successfully identify two taste sensations, sweet and savory. The tongue is reportedly 10-thousand times more effective in sensing "sweet" flavors compared to the human tongue, which means it can potentially be used to develop new food products.

To make the tongue, the researchers first extracted DNA information from protein-based taste-receptors that specifically sense sweet and savory flavors. This DNA information is inserted to a separate cell, which is put on top of a surface of graphene. The graphene detects changes in the current, and produces an electric signal which shows that a taste has been received.

Researchers at Tsinghua University in China have shown that feeding silkworms mulberry leaves sprayed with an aqueous solution containing a 0.2% (by weight) graphene or carbon nanotubes can result in reinforced silk that could be used in applications like durable protective fabrics, biodegradable medical implants, and wearable electronics.

This carbon-enhanced silk is said to be twice as tough as regular silks, and can withstand at least 50% higher stress before breaking. The team heated the silk fibers at 1,050 °C to carbonize the silk protein and then studied their conductivity and structure. The modified silks conduct electricity, unlike regular silk. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy imaging showed that the carbon-enhanced silk fibers had a more ordered crystal structure due to the incorporated nanomaterials.

Researchers from Seoul National University and the University of Manchester have found that a graphene coating on biological samples helps dissipate the charge build-up that tends to occur on the surface of these samples during non-destructive electron microscopy imaging. Such build-ups are often damaging and prevent high-resolution images from being obtained.

Currently used gold or platinum coatings mean that researchers cannot obtain high-resolution images of the samples or perform further quantitative and qualitative chemical analyses with techniques such as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Now, the research team discovered that a layer of graphene on biological samples can dissipate the charge accumulation on the non-conducting surfaces of biological samples thanks to the high electrical conductivity of graphene. The researchers explain that as soon as excessive charges appear on the sample surfaces, the graphene membrane provides conducting channels for these charges to disappear quickly and so allows to obtain high-resolution EM images. Furthermore, the high thermal conductivity of graphene allows it to dissipate excess heat produced by the high-energy electrons in the microscope, thus preventing thermal damage or deformation of biological specimens as well.