January 2018

Zenyatta Ventures has announced a strategic focus on graphene, which is converted from the Company’s Albany graphite deposit.

Zenyatta states that during 2017, independent labs in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada demonstrated that Zenyatta’s rare form of graphite easily exfoliates to graphene using a variety of simple mechanical methods. It was also stated that the graphene produced by Zenyatta’s partners is a consistent and high-quality nanomaterial, including the most desirable, mono-layer to tri-layer forms. The Company’s graphene also has excellent dispersion properties and therefore is highly suitable for enhancing present day composite materials like rubber and concrete, as confirmed by the University of Sussex and Ben-Gurion University respectively.

Researchers from Cornell University and Honeywell Aerospace have designed a graphene-enhanced transient electronics technology in which the microchip self-destructs by vaporizing an action that can be remotely triggered without releasing harmful byproducts. In addition to transient electronics, the technology might find application in environmental sensors that can be remotely vaporized once they're no longer needed.

A silicon-dioxide microchip is attached to a polycarbonate shell. Microscopic cavities within the shell contain rubidium and sodium bifluoride. When triggered remotely by using radio waves, these chemicals thermally react and decompose the microchip. The radio waves open graphene-on-nitride valves that keep the chemicals sealed in the cavities, allowing the rubidium to oxidize, release heat and vaporize the polycarbonate shell. The sodium bifluoride releases hydrofluoric acid to etch away the electronics.

Urbix Resources recently licensed a portfolio of technologies invented at the University of Arizona. Among these are a graphene exfoliation reactor, a graphite purification technique, a new electrode architecture and an electrolyte. These technologies were developed by a research professor at the UA College of Optical Sciences which is now the full-time chief technology officer at Urbix, overseeing the commercialization of these technologies.

Urbix executive chairman and co-founder Nico Cuevas sees these inventions as "transformational for the energy storage industry". The company has made steps beyond its original graphite commercialization business model to bring these new materials and battery cell designs to market.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the University of Manchester and Chalmers University of Technology have shown that the human immune system handles graphene oxide in a manner similar to pathogens, possibly leading to safer biomedical applications in the future.

Graphene oxide is currently being studied for use in various drug delivery methods and other medical applications (among other non-medical applications). However, it is of critical importance to understand how these materials interact with the body. The study shows that neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell specialized in combating infections, release so-called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) when encountering GO. NETs are made up of a "spider-web" of DNA decorated with proteins that help neutrophils to destroy microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

Haydale Graphene Industries has provided an update on trading for the six months ended 31 December 2017, as well as the general progress updates.

The main highlights include the report that Haydale is on track with its strategy and trading is in line with market expectations for the full year to 30 June 2018. The creation of two Strategic Business Units (‘SBU’) with respective senior management teams to drive sales and realize geographic potential has reportedly led to an uptake in sales and commercial opportunities.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have found a new and exciting physical effect in graphene membranes that could be used in devices to artificially mimic photosynthesis.

The new findings demonstrated an increase in the rate at which the material conducts protons when it is simply illuminated with sunlight. The 'photo-proton' effect, as it has been named, could be utilized to design devices able to directly harvest solar energy to produce hydrogen gas, a promising green fuel. It might also be of interest for other applications, such as light-induced water splitting, photo-catalysis and for making new types of highly efficient photodetectors.

New research by WMG at the University of Warwick has shown a novel approach to replacing graphite in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries using silicon, by reinforcing the anode’s structure with graphene girders. The team expects that this could more than double the life of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries by extending the operating lifetime of the electrode, and also increase the capacity delivered by such batteries.

Researchers and manufacturers have been looking for a way to replace graphite in batteries with silicon for a long time, as it is an abundantly available element with ten times the gravimetric energy density of graphite. However, silicon has several performance issues that have so far limited such use. Due to its volume expansion upon lithiation silicon particles can electrochemically agglomerate in ways that impede further charge-discharge efficiency over time. Silicon is also not intrinsically elastic enough to cope with the strain of lithiation when it is repeatedly charged, leading to cracking and rapid degradation of the anode’s composite microstructure. This contributes significantly to capacity fade, along with degradation events that occur in the the cathode.

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Graphene 3D Lab has announced receiving a gross proceed of $1,246,051 from the exercise of 10,383,760 warrants.

Daniel Stolyarov, the President and co-CEO commented: "We are pleased to receive such strong support from our shareholders. With the warrant proceeds, the Company is starting the year of 2018 with solid cash position. Together with $500,000 grant that we received from the State of New York in December 2017, these funds will allow our company to accomplish expeditiously the relocation of operations to the new facility, establish better infrastructure, install industrial scale equipment, and increase production for rapid growth of Graphene 3D Lab's business."

Researchers at Iowa State University, along with collaborators at Rice University, Ames Laboratory and Lehigh University, have designed a new graphene printing technology that can produce electronic circuits that are low-cost, flexible, highly conductive and water repellent. The scientists explain that this technology could enable self-cleaning wearable/washable electronics that are resistant to stains, or ice and biofilm formation.

We’re taking low-cost, inkjet-printed graphene and tuning it with a laser to make functional materials, said authors of the paper. The work describes how the team used inkjet printing technology to create electric circuits on flexible materials. In this case, the ink is flakes of graphene. The printed flakes, however, aren’t highly conductive and have to be processed to remove non-conductive binders and weld the flakes together, boosting conductivity and making them useful for electronics or sensors. Such post-print processes typically involve heat or chemicals, but the research group developed a rapid-pulse laser process that treats the graphene without damaging the printing surface even if it’s paper.