Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a hair dye based on graphene oxide that "does not include toxic compounds commonly used in hair dyes". As an added bonus, graphene-colored hair enjoys much less electrostatic frizz. Due to graphene’s thermal conductivity, the dye may even help dissipate heat on hot days. The team has filed a provisional patent for the color.

The researchers "used the biopolymer chitosan and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to disperse flakes of graphene oxide (GO)—and the darker derivative, reduced GO—in water," which reportedly formed a smooth coating on the hair surface.

One year ago, researchers from the Korea-based ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) demonstrated an 370x470 mm OLED array that use graphene transparent electrodes.

At this year's SID DisplayWeek trade show, ETRI researchers will demonstrate a flexible OLED panel that use a transparent graphene electrode. The researchers developed a "fully operational" 40x40 mm OLED panel that uses a pixelated graphene film as electrodes.

Researchers at UNSW have developed a graphene-based, laboratory-scale filter that can remove more than 99% of the natural organic matter left behind during conventional treatment of drinking water. In a research collaboration with Sydney Water, the team has demonstrated the success of the approach in laboratory tests on filtered water from the Nepean Water Filtration Plant in western Sydney, and is working to scale up the new technology.

"Our advance is to use filters based on graphene an extremely thin form of carbon. No other filtration method has come close to removing 99% of natural organic matter from water at low pressure," the UNSW team said. "Our results indicate that graphene-based membranes could be converted into an alternative new option that could in the future be retrofitted in conventional water treatment plants."

The Wuxi Graphene Industry Development & Demonstration Zone (in Wuxi, China - near Shanghai) is an impressive graphene center (we visited Wuxi in 2017). The center recently renovated its demonstration room, and sent us this video showcasing the many graphene products and materials under development or in production at the center.

There are a few new graphene projects underway at Wuxi. One example is a graphene additive to engine lubrication oils, used in the Xichuang G6 graphene oil, which is able to reduce gasoline consumption by 5-15% compared to current oils.

Versarien, the advanced materials engineering group, has announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with professional cycling team, Team Sky.

Versarien and Team Sky have agreed to collaborate to explore the benefits of adding graphene to high performance cycling equipment used by Team Sky. These products may include cycle frames, wheels and tyres, together with rider helmets and further rider apparel.

Gratomic, formerly called CKR Carbon Corporation, recently announced that it is expecting to commercialize graphene-enhanced tires in 2018 as a result of its advanced R&D program to include plasma-generated graphene in tires to increase their strength and reduce their.

Gratomic’s graphene material is reportedly being tested in pre-production trials by 5 major tire manufacturers in Asia and Europe with a consolidated demand in excess of 5000 tonnes of graphene annually.

A U.S-based startup called Promethient Inc. has developed a new graphene-enhanced seat warmer technology that it says is more efficient and durable than similar available systems. The company has developed the Thermavance conductive heat transfer system, which uses conduction of heat as opposed to most of the other technologies that rely on transfer of heat through convection for the purpose of warming seats.

In the common case of convective seats, seats have to be perforated so that the air can be moved through the seating surface. This makes the surface of the seats more prone to damage from wear-and-tear and from water. In the Thermavance heat transfer system, however, Promethient uses a solid-state thermoelectric module and graphene in order to transfer heat directly to the occupant of the seat instead of first either heating or cooling the surrounding air.

The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester have published a joint paper on the potential of graphene in aerospace, or more precisely the potential market opportunities available to UK aerospace companies. Organizations that also worked on the paper included the University of Central Lancashire, the Center for Process Innovation, QinetiQ, Morson Projects Limited and Haydale with input from Ekosgen.

The safety and performance properties of aircraft could be significantly improved by incorporating atomically-thin graphene into existing materials used to build planes, while the reduced weight of the material could have a positive impact on the fuel efficiency of the aircraft and, as result, the environment.

First Graphene has announced the completion of a strategic capital raising.The Company raised AUD3.2 million (just over $2.5 million USD), in a placement reportedly undertaken following an approach to FGR from a European-based industrialist wanting to introduce graphene to its products.

In November 2017, First Graphene announced the opening of its Commercial Graphene Facility (CGF).

A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that also included scientists from University of Tennessee, Rice University and New Mexico State University, has developed a new method to produce large, monolayer single-crystal-like graphene films more than a foot long. The novel technique may open new opportunities for producing high-quality graphene of unlimited size and in a way that is suitable for roll-to-roll production.

The ORNL team used a CVD method — but with a twist. They explained in this work how localized control of the CVD process allows evolutionary, or self-selecting, growth under optimal conditions, yielding a large, single-crystal-like sheet of graphene. Large single crystals are more mechanically robust and may have higher conductivity, ORNL lead coauthor Ivan Vlassiouk said. This is because weaknesses arising from interconnections between individual domains in polycrystalline graphene are eliminated. Our method could be the key not only to improving large-scale production of single-crystal graphene but to other 2D materials as well, which is necessary for their large-scale applications, he added.