April 2019

A study led by John Heinzel from the US Naval Surface Warfare Center in Philadelphia, along with researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, has compared the performance of supercapacitors from four different manufacturers: Maxwell, Ioxus, JM Energy, and Skeleton. Of the four tested, only the Skeleton supercapacitors are graphene-enhanced.

The team studied cells from the four different manufacturers under high pulsed load conditions to measure their power density into low-impedance loads. The researchers found that the Skeleton cell far outperformed the other cells tested, and graphene was mentioned as the probable cause for this efficiency.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Electronic Systems, led by professors Helge Weman and Bjørn-Ove Fimland, have succeeded in building UV LEDs by growing AlGaN nanowires on graphene. "We've shown that it's possible, which is really exciting," says PhD candidate Ida Marie Høiaas, who has been working on the project with PhD candidate Andreas Liudi Mulyo.

A layer of graphene placed on glass forms the substrate for the researchers' new diode that generates UV light. Researchers then grew nanowires of AlGaN on the graphene lattice, using molecular beam epitaxy. This was conducted in Japan, where the NTNU research team collaborates with Katsumi Kishino at Sophia University in Tokyo.

In May 2017 we reported on a new project at the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research (Wroclaw, Poland) that developed a new efficient white light source that uses graphene foam excitated by a continuous-wave laser.

The project is still in progress, and the researchers demonstrated the technology at IDTechEx Graphene & 2D Materials Europe 2019 earlier this month, as can be seen in our video above.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have recently developed a promising breakthrough for lithium sulphur batteries, using a catholyte with a graphene sponge. Such batteries may offer a theoretical energy density more than five times that of lithium ion batteries.

Structure of the lithium sulfur battery

The researchers' approach relies on a porous, sponge-like aerogel, made of reduced graphene oxide, that acts as a free-standing electrode in the battery cell and allows for better and higher utilization of sulphur.

Researchers from Rice University, the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have found that graphene quantum dots drawn from common coal may be the basis for an effective antioxidant for people who suffer traumatic brain injuries, strokes or heart attacks.

Coal-derived graphene quantum dots as seen under an electron microscope

The QDs' ability to quench oxidative stress after such injuries was the subject of a study, which showed that the biocompatible dots, when modified with a common polymer, are effective mimics of the body’s own superoxide dismutase, one of many natural enzymes that keep oxidative stress in check.

In October 2018, Huawei announced its Mate 20 X smartphone, which was a gaming smartphone that adopted a graphene film cooling technology for heat management purposes. Now, Huawei launched the Mate P30 Pro smartphone, that adopts a graphene film as well.

The Mate 20 X was a bit of a niche phone, but the P30 Pro is more mainstream one (even though it is quite expensive at around $1,200). Besides the graphene cooling film, the P30 Pro sports a 6.47" 1080x2340 flexible AMOLED display, an under-the-display fingerprint sensor, a Kirin 980 chipset, 6/8 GB of RAM, 64/128/256/512 GB of storage a Nano Memory card slot and a high-end quad-camera setup.

Skeleton Technologies, an Estonia-based company that produces graphene-based supercapacitors and energy storage systems, is to invest €25 million in its plant located in the German state of Saxony. With this investment, Skeleton aims to expand its research and development as well as scale its production.

"In 2017, we announced our first stage in Saxony — €6.2 million were invested in the production of ultracapacitors in Großröhrsdorf," Skeleton co-founder and CEO Taavi Madiberk said in a press release. "We have successfully entered the market and helped save fuel and reduce emissions from buses, trucks, railway vehicles and industrial machinery".

Versarien recently reported that it has signed a term sheet with Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology covering the proposed cooperation between the parties to develop Versarien's graphene business in China.

Subject to the completion of due diligence and the entering into of formal documentation, the term sheet will see Beijing Institute assisting Versarien with the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in China. The subsidiary would focus on the manufacture of Versarien's graphene and other 2D materials in China and their sale to Chinese customers.

Researchers from Nankai University in China and Rice University in the U.S. have developed a type of graphene-based foam that retains its texture when exposed to extremely cold temperatures.

Structure of the 3D graphene foam

The researchers note that almost all materials become more brittle and stiffer when exposed to very cold temperatures, often leading to loss of strength. In this new work, the researchers sought to find a material that would spring back after being crushed while exposed to extreme temperatures. To that end, they turned to graphene as a possible solution.

Archer Exploration has printed and patterned ink formulations of human antibodies on graphene-based biosensor components derived from the company’s Campoona graphite. Archer reports that ink formulations comprised primarily of human antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) as the active constituent were successfully prepared and printed using proprietary methods.

An antibody ink formulation printed and patterned onto a resin-coated paper substrate

The IgG inks were printed on resin-coated paper and a number of graphene-based electrodes and were able to withstand the chemical and physical processes in the formulation, printing, and post-printing steps.