Graphene Flagship Partners RWTH Aachen University and AMO GmbH, both based in Germany, recently launched a new joint research center with a focus on efficiently bridging the gap between fundamental science and applications within graphene and related materials based electronics and photonics.

The five founding Principal Investigators of the Aachen Graphene & 2D-Materials Center are all members of the Graphene Flagship and share the vision of bringing graphene and related materials research from the lab into applications. The Center will help to turn the exciting properties of graphene and 2D-materials into true functions, making these materials not only fascinating for scientists but also serving society, as was explained.

Italian and British researchers have created a unique kind of material, produced by spiders that were "fed" with miscrosopic flaked of graphene and CNTs.

The scientists fed "special" water to three species of spiders. Dispersed within it were microscopic flakes of graphene, or carbon nanotubes. When silk was subsequently gathered from the spiders, it was found that the graphene/nanotubes had been passed into the fibers. As a result, its tensile strength and toughness were much higher than that of regular spider silk.

We are happy to announce a new Metalgrass knowledge hub, MicroLED-Info.com. This new site will focus on Micro-LED display technology and its future market. MicroLED is quickly becoming a promising future display technology.

Many expect the first Micro-LED devices to hit the market in the very near future, with first applications in the wearable market - and also in HUDs and HMDs. MicroLED promise great performance, very high efficiency and brightness - but of course there are still many technical challenges ahead.

Researchers from The University of Manchester recently demonstrated flexible graphene-based supercapacitors printed directly on to textiles using a simple screen-printing technique.

The solid-state flexible supercapacitor device has been demonstrated by using conductive graphene-oxide ink to print onto cotton fabric. The printed electrodes reportedly exhibited excellent mechanical stability due to the strong interaction between the ink and textile substrate.

A collaboration work by Purdue, the Chinese Lanzhou University and Harbin Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has yielded a lightweight, flame-resistant and super-elastic composite shown to combine high strength with electrical conductivity and thermal insulation, suggesting potential applications from buildings to aerospace.

The composite material is made of interconnected cells of graphene sandwiched between ceramic layers. The graphene scaffold, referred to as an aerogel, is chemically bonded with ceramic layers using a process called atomic layer deposition. The team explained that graphene would ordinarily degrade when exposed to high temperature, but the ceramic imparts high heat tolerance and flame-resistance, properties that might be useful as a heat shield for aircraft. The light weight, high-strength and shock-absorbing properties could make the composite a good substrate material for flexible electronic devices. Because it has high electrical conductivity and yet is an excellent thermal insulator, it might be used as a flame-retardant, thermally insulating coating, as well as sensors and devices that convert heat into electricity, said associate professor in the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University.

Haydale recently announced the launch of its Taiwan operations, Haydale Technologies Taiwan ('HTW'), which will operate as a dedicated producer and sales outlet of graphene-based conductive inks and pastes, including other functional and specialty inks and pastes.

Located in Southern Taiwan, HTW has largely completed the setup of its own dedicated ink production facility to meet its anticipated demand. Haydale has been working in Taiwan for more than 18 months, having determined in late 2015 that the region's focus on functional inks and pastes could provide an important route to market for Haydale's tailored graphene-based materials. The work involved market assessments, in-country technical capability, ability to gain regulatory approvals and gaining a deep understanding of the targeted print customers' needs.

Researchers from Korea and China have developed a method to synthesize large sheets of monolayer single-crystal graphene.

Polycrystalline graphene is formed by randomly oriented graphene islands, which decreases its quality. Currently, scientists can grow meter-sized polycrystalline graphene and smaller sizes of the usually higher-quality single-crystal graphene, ranging from 0.01 mm² to a few square centimeters. The synthesis of large single-crystal graphene at a low cost is considered a desirable goal. In this study, the team reported the synthesis of a large sheet of monolayer single-crystal graphene.

Researchers at the UAE-based Masdar Institute, part of the Khalifa University of Science and Technology, have announced significant progress in their research in the field of optimized graphene-based membranes, which aim to make water filtration and desalination more efficient and sustainable.

The team worked to develop membranes made of layered reduced graphene-oxide sheets that are able to block the passage of salt ions in a membrane-based seawater desalination process. The spacing between the sheets is what ultimately affects the membrane’s efficacy, or its ability to filter impurities like salt ions while still permitting water molecules to pass through. The spaces between sheets must be just right if they are too large and salt ions are not filtered out, and if they too small and even water molecules are unable to penetrate the membrane.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed flexible and transparent graphene-based solar cells, which can be mounted on various surfaces ranging from glass to plastic to paper and tape. The graphene devices exhibited optical transmittance of 61% across the whole visible regime and up to 69% at 550 nanometers. The power conversion efficiency of the graphene solar cells ranged from 2.8% to 4.1%.

A common challenge in making transparent solar cells with graphene is getting the two electrodes to stick together and to the substrate, as well as ensuring that electrons only flow out of one of the graphene layers. Using heat or glue can damage the material and reduce its conductivity, so the MIT team developed a new technique to tackle this issue. Rather than applying an adhesive between the graphene and the substrate, they sprayed a thin layer of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) over the top, sticking them together like tape instead of glue.

In June 2017 Group NanoXplore, a Montreal-based company specializing in the production and application of graphene and its derivative materials, announced that it will merge with Graniz Modal, a public company that trades in the Canadian stock exchange (TSX: GRA.H) - to become a public company.

As part of this transaction NanoXplore said it will raise between $2 and $5 million CAD in a private placement. Today NanoXplore announced that it successfully raised the money - and actually managed to raise a much higher sum - almost $9.7 million CAD. NanoXplore will pay 7% of these to the agent in this deal.