October 2021

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have recently refined the water desalination process, with graphene nanopores obtained using artificial intelligence.

"The ions are so tiny, and if you want to remove them, you need to either boil, evaporate, and condense the water, or push it through membranes full of very tiny pores," explained Barati Farimani, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The current desalination and separation process is very energy and time inefficient. To combat this, Barati Farimani and his team have used artificial intelligence (AI) agents to design an improved method in a week that would likely take decades. "Ideally," he explained, "the best membrane should be one atom thick, such as graphene, a single-layer sheet."

Researchers at Duke University have used graphene to develop a unique electrochromic technology for smart window-like devices that can alternate between harvesting heat from sunlight and allowing an object to cool. The approach could promote HVAC energy savings savings.

A demonstration of the smart-window-like technology. Image credit: Po-Chun Hsu, Duke University

The Duke team said that the new electrochromic tuning method does not have any moving parts and is continuously tunable.

ZEN Graphene Solutions has announced its plan to change its name to Zentek Ltd.. Zen Graphene Solutions was also formerly called Zenyatta Ventures, until it changed its name in January 2019.

Zen Graphene will remain trading with the same symbol, ZEN, at the TSX Venture Change.

Researchers from Korea's University of Seoul, Russia's RUDN University and several India-based institutes have created a nano-filter for water purification from synthetic dyes. The graphene-based composite can reportedly remove up to 100% of harmful compounds from water, and it can be used up to seven times without losing efficiency. In addition, the synthesis of the nanofilter itself is economical and environmentally friendly.

Synthetic dyes are used in industrial chemistry and pharmaceuticals. They reach the wastewater together with other industrial waste and pollute the environment. Existing methods of water purification are not quite practical, as the proposed adsorbents are usually disposable and work slowly. Therefore, scientists continue to look for effective and eco-friendly solutions to this problem. The team in this recent work has proposed a reusable graphene-based nanocomposite that can quickly absorb dyes from water.

Sparc Technologies signed an agreement with its partner (and shareholder) the University of Adelaide to co-develop ultra-green hydrogen technology.

Sparc Tech, together with the University, will form a joint-venture called Sparc Hydrogen (72% owned by Sparc Tech). The new company will develop a process that will produce hydrogen based on thermo-photocatalysis, which uses the suns radiation and thermal properties to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) have developed a cost-effective alternative to the Photo-Electro-Chemical (PEC) cells that split water molecules to harness hydrogen. The team is developing novel materials that can use sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The materials are much cheaper than the currently used 'noble metals', leading to cost-effective solar-powered hydrogen generators. The team aims to pave the way to a carbon-free hydrogen economy.

The team of IIT Guwahati scientists has developed non-noble metal catalysts that are as good as the expensive metals in splitting water into PEC cells. "We have developed a ternary catalyst that comprises cobalt-tin layered-double hydroxides (LDH) and bismuth vanadate, which forms a p-n junction semiconductor with graphene bridges, and have shown that the catalyst, when used as a photoanode, is able to split water easily to produce hydrogen and oxygen," said lead researcher Dr Mohammad Qureshi, Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati.

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent, with the aim to agree on the terms of binding agreements, with Robert Bosch Australia ("BOSCH"). The idea is for BOSCH to design and deliver a Graphene Aluminium Ion Battery ("G+AI Battery") manufacturing plant.

Robert Bosch Australia is a subsidiary of the BOSCH Group, a global provider of integrated production line solutions, automation, robotics and testing equipment. BOSCH will support GMG in learning and developing the automation of the battery assembly process and use the results from the GMG G+AI Battery pilot plant to support the scaling of these into fully automated plants. The parties' intent is for BOSCH to become GMG's engineering, design and construction contractor for GMG's near and long-term battery cell manufacturing facility needs (both coin cell and pouch pack).

This is a sponsored post by Graphenea

Graphenea has obtained ISO 13485 certification for manufacturing medical device components. The certification relates to the GFET product line and the Graphene Foundry service.

The ISO standard is an important certification needed for the commercialization of medical applications of graphene, in particular non-implantable biosensors. Graphenea obtained certification for the entire process chain, including raw materials, design, development, manufacture and sale. The certificate also applies to facilities, quality management, tracing, and data analysis. The ISO certificate was issued after an independent audit by SGS.

Purdue researchers have developed a topological circulator that may improve how information is routed and processed on a chip, using a new phase of graphene.

The team has shown that graphene’s viscous fluid supports unidirectional electromagnetic waves on the edge. These edge waves are linked to a new topological phase of matter and symbolize a phase transition in the material, not unlike the transition from solid to liquid. A remarkable feature of this new phase of graphene is that light travels in one direction along the edge of the material and is robust to disorder, imperfections and deformation. Purdue researchers have harnessed this nonreciprocal effect to develop topological circulators one-way routers of signals, the smallest in the world that could be a breakthrough for on-chip, all-optical processing.

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