Graphene applications: what is graphene used for? - Page 15

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have received an award to develop a graphene-based sweat monitor tattoos that can be applied to the skin just like a temporary tattoo and assess the molecules present, such as cortisol. The tattoos will aim to give users better insight into their health and serve as a tool for researchers to discover new early indications of diseases.

“There are a lot of vital biomolecules that are present in sweat that we need to measure to really understand overall human performance and correlation to different diseases,” says research lead and assistant professor of biomedical engineering, Dmitry Kireev.

Rice University researchers have found that graphene derived from metallurgical coke, a coal-based product, could serve not only as a reinforcing additive in cement but also as a replacement for sand in concrete.

"This could have a major impact on one of the biggest industries in the world," said James Tour, Rice's T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor and a professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering. "We compared concrete made using the graphene aggregate substitute with concrete made using suitable sand aggregates, and we found our concrete is 25% lighter but just as tough."

University of California San Diego researchers have developed a neural implant capable of reading brain activity that could advance research into creating a brain-computer interface (BCI) without being overly invasive.

The new implant consists of a thin transparent strip made of a polymer with several graphene electrodes 20 micrometers in diameter, each of which is connected to a circuit board via tiny wires. The strip sits on the surface of the brain allowing it to detect neural activity consisting of electrical activity and calcium activity. Unlike previous methods, the chip allows scientists to conduct longer experiments without the need to have a subject fixed in place under a microscope.

According to a recent announcement, India-based IPower Batteries has launched graphene series lead-acid batteries.

The company has claimed its new battery variants have been tested by ICAT for AIS0156 and have been awarded the Type Approval Certificate TAC for their innovative graphene series lead-acid technology.

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid researchers have reported the development of an electrically tunable graphene-based biosensor that leverages sound waves to provide unprecedented infrared sensitivity and specificity at the single layer limit. By precisely matching the tunable graphene plasmon frequency to target molecular vibrations, even faint spectral fingerprints emerge clearly.

This acoustically activated approach enables precise in situ study of angstrom-scale films, unlocking new infrared applications across chemistry, biology and medicine.

Researchers at the UK's University of Leicester, Russia's Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and Kemerovo State University, TerraVox Global in Cyprus, National University of Singapore and the University of Twente in the Netherlands have gained better understanding of superlubricity, where surfaces experience extremely low levels of friction.

The team addressed a longtime mystery in the principles of superlubricity – a state in which two surfaces experience little to almost no friction when sliding across one another. Superlubricity is associated with molecular smooth surfaces such as graphene and has only been observed in a laboratory environment where these surfaces can be synthesized. In various technological applications, this phenomenon could potentially reduce friction up to 1000 – 10000 times, as compared to conventional friction in machines and mechanisms.

A new study, led by the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) along with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and other international partners like the University of Manchester (under the European Graphene Flagship project), presents EGNITE (Engineered Graphene for Neural Interfaces) - a novel class of flexible, high-resolution, high-precision graphene-based implantable neurotechnology with the potential for a transformative impact in neuroscience and medical applications. 

This work aims to deliver an innovative technology to the growing field of neuroelectronics and brain-computer interfaces. EGNITE builds on the experience of its inventors in fabrication and medical translation of carbon nanomaterials. This innovative technology based on nanoporous graphene integrates fabrication processes standard in the semiconductor industry to assemble graphene microelectrodes of a mere 25 µm in diameter. The graphene microelectrodes exhibit low impedance and high charge injection, essential attributes for flexible and efficient neural interfaces.

University of Arkansas physics professor Paul Thibado received a commitment of $904,000 from the WoodNext Foundation, administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation. The five-year grant will support Thibado’s development of graphene energy harvesters.

“We have successfully developed a process for building graphene energy harvesting device structures,” Thibado said, “but current structures do not harvest enough power. This proposal will allow us to optimize these structures to harvest nanowatts of power, which is enough energy to run sensors.”  

Novusterra, a company specializing in the development and production of carbon nanomaterials and graphene to the infrastructure, agriculture, and electrification economy, has announced that its patented technology to produce carbon nanomaterial additives for concrete and asphalt pavements is being used as the exclusive patented technology in a comprehensive research project to improve the future durability of airfields for the United States Air Force.

Greg Jensen, CEO of Novusterra, commented, "We are honored to serve alongside our partners at Kenai Defense, Texas Tech University, and the United States Air Force as we use our exclusively licensed patents to better serve our beloved United States Air Force as we work to improve the durability of their domestic and forward deployed airfields. We are confident that this partnership, among dedicated and patriotic Americans, will make both our military and ultimately our Nation's infrastructure even stronger. The demand for infrastructure projects worldwide continues to accelerate due to rebuilding, energy transition, and overall government stimulus, and we are well-positioned to provide advanced, high-value technology to help produce better, more durable, and greener materials and products to support such growth of modern infrastructure."

HydroGraph Clean Power has announced that its flagship graphene product, FGA-1, has been successfully trialed in Hawkeye Bio’s biomedical sensor aimed at the early detection of lung cancer. Hawkeye Bio is a clinical stage medical technology company focused on the early detection of cancer.

HydroGraph’s graphene was selected by Hawkeye Bio based on the purity and consistency of its graphene. Headquartered in Toronto, HydroGraph’s manufacturing facility is located in Manhattan, Kan.