Graphene applications: what is graphene used for? - Page 22

Researchers from Seoul National University and Samsung Electronics have developed a sensitive and selective nerve gas sensor using human scent receptors. It reliably detected a substitute for deadly sarin gas in simulated tests.

Nerve gases are often very potent, requiring highly sensitive sensors to detect them quickly and accurately. One method of boosting sensitivity combines human scent receptors with nanomaterials such as reduced graphene oxide to create a "bioelectronic nose." But since these nerve gases are still highly dangerous even in laboratory settings, many scientists rely on safer, substitute molecules instead. In the case of the sarin or soman nerve agents, dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) is a common replacement. Previously, the receptor protein hOR2T7 has been used to detect DMMP, but it could only do so when the nerve agent substitute was in a liquid form, rather than as a gas. So, the research team wanted to design a "nose" of their own that was both highly sensitive and selective for the gaseous form, using nanodiscs containing the hOR2T7 receptor.

Researchers from Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech) and Kwangwoon University recently used a novel approach called UV-assisted atomic layer deposition (UV-ALD) to treat graphene electrodes. The choice of this technique resulted in the successful production of a high-performance graphene-dielectric interface. 

The research team became the first to apply UV-ALD to the deposition of dielectric films onto the surface of graphene. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) involves adding ultra-thin layers at the atomic scale to a substrate, and its significance has grown considerably as semiconductor components have shrunk in size. UV-ALD, which combines ultraviolet light with the deposition process, enables more dielectric film placement than traditional ALD. However, no one had explored the application of UV-ALD for 2D materials such as graphene.

Nova Graphene has announced a pivot in their product development strategy. Originally focused on designing 3D-printed graphene-enhanced ballistic armor for human military and law enforcement personnel, Nova has now fast-tracked the development of similar armor specifically designed for service animals.

The team at Nova Graphene decided to expedite animal scanning and prototyping while conducting an early body scan test for their current armor project.

Today we have published the latest edition of our Graphene Construction Materials Market market report, a comprehensive guide to the world of graphene-enhanced construction materials. The edition, now updated to August 2023, includes several new updates, trials, and project involved in this exciting and promising market.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of using graphene in construction materials
• Companies involved in this industry
• Projects and trials underway today
• Research activities

The report package also provides:

• Datasheets and brochures from leading companies
• A look into how graphene can reduce carbon emissions
• A look into Chinese graphene construction materials projects
• Free updates for a year

This Graphene Construction Materials market report provides a great introduction to graphene materials used in the construction industry. It is a must-read guide for anyone interested in understanding the current market, mapping the companies involved and evaluating the future of the construction industry.

The Oxfordshire County Council's highways team and its contractor, Milestone Infrastructure, are testing graphene-enhanced Gipave road surface in a village near Chipping Norton. On a 725-meter stretch of North Street in Middle Barton.

This trial is the third in Oxfordshire, and sees an adjacent length of road resurfaced using conventional asphalt so that the two surfaces can be compared.

Researchers from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), in collaboration with Integrated Graphene, have examined the potential of three-dimensional graphene (3DG) foam (Gii) as an active layer in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and as an energy harvesting power source for autonomous sensors.

The research showed that the force of a human footprint on a pressure-sensitive mat equipped with Gii-TENG sensors can produce enough energy to anonymously keep track of people entering or leaving a room.

Scientists at DARPA, Siemens, US ARMY, Georgia Tech Research Institute, and Paragraf - through recently acquired Cardea Bio, now Paragraf San Diego - presented novel multiomics capabilities, by detection of both protein and RNA biosignals simultaneously on a single graphene-based biosensor.

Dr. Kiana Aran, Chief Innovation Officer at Paragraf San Diego, stated: “Having a single technology platform that can detect both protein and DNA/RNA biosignal analytes at the same time on a small-scale detection device, is a major technological advancement. While it initially will impact when and where we can detect viral infections, with time it will also work for other types of diseases. This will enable new, better, and way faster diagnoses for any types of diseases or biothreats.”

A team of researchers from Japan's Chiba University, led by Associate Professor Tomonori Ohba and including master’s students, Mr. Kai Haraguchi and Mr. Sogo Iwakami, has fabricated fullerene-pillared porous graphene (FPPG)—a carbon composite comprising nanocarbons—using a bottom-up approach with highly designable and controllable pore structures. 

Separation processes are essential in the purification and concentration of a target molecule during water purification, removal of pollutants, and heat pumping. To make the separation processes more energy efficient, improvement in the design of porous materials is necessary. Porous carbon materials offer a distinct advantage as they are composed of only one type of atom and have been well-used for separation processes. They have large pore volumes and surface areas, providing high performance in gas separation, water purification, and storage. However, pore structures generally have high heterogeneity with low designability, which poses various challenges, limiting the applicability of carbon materials in separation and storage.

Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences,  BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, MIT, 2bind and Avalon GloboCare have designed a novel sensor that could detect the same molecules that naturally occurring cell receptors can identify.

The researchers created a prototype sensor that can detect an immune molecule called CXCL12, down to tens or hundreds of parts per billion. This is an important first step towards developing a system that could be used to perform routine screens for hard-to-diagnose cancers or metastatic tumors, or as a highly biomimetic electronic “nose,” the researchers say.

Researchers from the University of Washington and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have performed transport measurements of dual-gated devices constructed by slightly rotating a monolayer graphene sheet atop a thin bulk graphite crystal. They surprisingly found that it is possible to imbue graphite with physical properties similar to graphene. 

Not only was this result unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties.