Researchers at Rice University have found that it may be possible to make graphene-carbon nanotube junctions excel at transferring heat, turning these into an attractive way to channel damaging heat away from next-generation nano-electronics. This could, in theory, be done by putting a cone-like chimney between the graphene and nanotube to eliminate the barrier that blocks heat from escaping.

Graphene and carbon nanotubes both excel at the rapid transfer of electricity and phonons, but when a nanotube grows from graphene, atoms facilitate the turn by forming heptagonal (seven-member) rings instead of the usual six-atom rings. Scientists have determined that forests of nanotubes grown from graphene are excellent for storing hydrogen for energy applications, but in electronics, the heptagons scatter phonons and hinder the escape of heat through the pillars.

Saint Jean Carbon, a carbon science company engaged in the design and development of carbon materials and their applications, recently received (along with Western University) a grant from the The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) towards the development of graphene-based systems with special magnetic properties.

The $100,000 grant will be used to cover the cost of the lab work, testing, material creation and all research associated costs. The company stated that it aims to use the funds to get beyond the lab and into working prototypes, scaled models and future commercial production. In addition, SJC hopes that "the results will play a big role in the medical field as well in energy storage for electric cars and green energy creation".

The Fraunhofer Institute FEP and other partners at EU GLADIATOR project developed a functional flexible OLED lighting device based on graphene electrodes. This device is 2 x 1 cm in size - much larger the previous prototype developed as part of that project last year.

The graphene electrodes were produced in a CVD-based process. The graphene was deposited on a copper film, covered with a flexible polymer carrier and then the copper was etched away.

The Graphene-Info team would like to wish all of its readers a very happy new year! 2016 has been a busy year for graphene, as the market is shifting from R&D to graphene implementation and commercialization. Here are 2016's top 10 graphene applications, ranked by the number of posts written about them:

1. Graphene composites
2. Graphene sensors
3. Medicine
4. Graphene batteries
5. Electronics
6. Graphene supercapacitors
7. Graphene coating
8. Displays
9. Graphene inks
10. Solar energy

Last year, electronics was the most-mentioned topic, but now in 2016 the the most mentioned topic was composites and then sensors. This is another sign that the attention is shifting towards areas in which commercialization is already underway.