Australia-based graphene and data analytics company, Imagine Intelligent Materials, has developed an integrated sensing solution that uses graphene coatings and edge-based signal processing devices to collect data from objects with large surface areas.

Proven over areas as large as 4,000 square meters, the system gathers data such as pressure, moisture, stress and temperature and is aimed at industrial and consumer applications in the IoT market.

Past studies by various research groups around the world were able to demonstrate origami-like folding of graphite with a scanning probe, but could not command where or how the folds would occur. Now, by replacing the graphite with high-quality graphene nanoislands, researchers in China and the US have leveraged the atomic-level control of STM into an origami nanofabrication tool with an impressive level of precision.

Similar to conventional paper origami, our current work has made it possible to create new complex nanostructures by custom-design folding of atomic layer materials, says Hong-Jun Gao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) who led this latest work. Alongside Shixuan Du and collaborators at CAS, as well as Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland in the U.S, Gao reports how they can fold single layers of graphene with the direction of the fold specified over a range from around the magic angle at 1.1° (where observations of correlated electron behavior have been causing such a stir) to 60°, with a precision of 0.1°. Their STM manipulations also leave tubular structures at the edges that have one-dimensional structure electron characteristics similar to carbon nanotubes.

Understanding atomic level processes can open a wide range of prospects in nanoelectronics and material engineering. A team of scientists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) recently suggested such a model, that describes the distribution of heat in ultrapure crystals at the atomic level.

The distribution of heat in nanostructures is not regulated by the laws that apply to conventional materials. This effect is most vividly expressed in the reaction between graphene and a laser-generated heat point source.

Researchers at the University of Göttingen have developed a new method that utilizes the unusual properties of graphene to electromagnetically interact with fluorescing (light-emitting) molecules. This method allows scientists to optically measure extremely small distances, in the order of 1 Angstron (one ten-billionth of a meter) with high accuracy and reproducibility for the first time. This enabled researchers to optically measure the thickness of lipid bilayers, the stuff that makes the membranes of all living cells.

On the left: Image of single molecules on the graphene sheet. Such images allow scientists to determine the position and orientation for each molecule. Comparison with the expected image (right) shows excellent agreement. Credit: University of Göttingen

The University of Göttingen team, led by Professor Enderlein, used a single sheet of graphene, just one atom thick (0.34 nm), to modulate the emission of light-emitting (fluorescent) molecules when they came close to the graphene sheet. The excellent optical transparency of graphene and its capability to modulate through space the molecules' emission made it an extremely sensitive tool for measuring the distance of single molecules from the graphene sheet. The accuracy of this method is so good that even the slightest distance changes of around 1 Ã¥ngström (this is about the diameter of an atom or half a millionth of a human hair) can be resolved. The scientists were able to show this by depositing single molecules above a graphene layer. They could then determine their distance by monitoring and evaluating their light emission.

Talga Technologies is scaling up its R&D operations at the Bradfield Center on Cambridge Science Park. The reported that this move comes as tests showed that Talga’s Li-ion battery anode product, Talnode-C, outperforms existing lithium battery technology in cold weather situations, where lithium products have traditionally struggled.

We make graphene and graphite materials, says Talga Resources R&D manager, Sai Shivareddy. Graphene is made by an electrochemical exfoliation process in an aqueous electrolyte water plus salt by using our natural graphite rocks in electrodes.

Scientist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working towards making more powerful computers a reality. To that end, they have devised a method to grow tiny ribbons of graphene directly on top of silicon wafers. Graphene ribbons have a special advantage over graphene sheets - they become excellent semiconductors.

Graphene nanoribbons on silicon wafers could help lead the way toward super fast computer chips. Image courtesy of Mike Arnold

Compared to current technology, this could enable faster, low power devices, says Vivek Saraswat, a PhD student in materials science and engineering at UW-Madison. It could help you pack in more transistors onto chips and continue Moore’s law into the future. The advance could enable graphene-based integrated circuits, with much improved performance over today’s silicon chips.

First Graphene recently signed a new agreement with newGen for the supply of three tonnes of its PureGRAPH products. These will be used by newGen for the manufacture of wear linings used in bucket wheels, pipe spools and conveyor applications in the mining industry. This continues the two Companies' cooperation in the field of graphene-enhanced products (primarily polyurethane liners) for the mining services industry.

Blending PureGRAPH graphene in powder form with existing elastomers reportedly provides considerable mechanical improvements to the material, including enhanced tensile and tear strength, plus far greater abrasion resistance. This extends the life of wear liners, significantly reducing downtime and cost for mining and quarrying operators.

Haydale has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is seeking to develop non-metallic gas tanks for spacecraft propulsion systems in a technology de-risking project.

The demand for small satellite launches has created a challenge within the existing space propulsion supply chain for low-cost reliable components. With the constellation market set to increase rapidly, the development of components that meet these criteria is critical. Haydale's non-metallic system reportedly offers a low-cost alternative with reduced lead time that can be offered in a wider range of configurations to exactly suit the end user requirement.

Zen Graphene Solutions has announced a non-brokered private placement financing to raise approximately CAD$1.0 million (around USD$754,300).

Zen stated that the proceeds of the offering will be used to fund ongoing work on the Albany Graphite Project including environmental studies, graphene research and development work, material processing and for general corporate purposes.

Researchers from the University of Manchester have found that incorporating graphene oxide into three-dimensional scaffolds that support regenerating cartilage could offer a new means of delivering vital growth factors.

Damage to cartilage from injury or disease is difficult to remedy because of the material’s low capacity for self-repair. Future treatments hope to harness tissue-engineering approaches, introducing hydrogel scaffolds impregnated with stem cells that can proliferate and differentiate into chondrocytes, to make new cartilage. This strategy requires the appropriate biological cues to drive cell differentiation, but the results of various attempts to achieve sustained delivery of such signals have been disappointing.