Graphene applications: what is graphene used for? - Page 31

Graphenano and the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the University of Valencia have developed a battery cell without current collectors or metal terminals, which uses graphene and carbon nanomaterials instead. The system enables the creation of safer, lighter and more efficient batteries for electric cars, aviation, stationary storage and more.

The scientists have succeeded in removing the copper, aluminium or steel sheets, the materials generally used in conventional batteries to evacuate the electric current generated. Simultaneously, the metallic tabs (current terminals), usually made of nickel or other metals, which are responsible for transferring the energy from the inside to the outside of the battery, have been eliminated. The replacement of these metals by graphene and other carbon nanomaterials significantly reduces the weight and volume of the devices. Furthermore, the team reported that tests have ascertained that this replacement increases the energy density by 30-60% and eliminates the risk of explosion or fire accidents on contact with air.

Sparc Technologies has progressed construction of a modular and scalable manufacturing facility to produce graphene-based additives with commissioning expected in Q1 CY23.

The facility will enable the production of commercial quantities of graphene-based additives for the growing global coatings and composites markets, according to the Company's investor update.

Researchers at MIT and National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, have found a new and intriguing property of “magic-angle” graphene: superconductivity that can be turned on and off with an electric pulse, much like a light switch.

The discovery could lead to ultrafast, energy-efficient superconducting transistors for neuromorphic devices — electronics designed to operate in a way similar to the rapid on/off firing of neurons in the human brain.

Researchers from Penn State and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China recently enhanced their gas sensor manufacturing process through an in situ laser-assisted manufacturing approach, improving on their previous method of drop casting (dropping materials one by one onto a substrate using a pipette. 

Flexible gas sensors can be used as medical devices to identify health conditions by detecting oxygen or carbon dioxide levels in the breath or sweat. They are also useful for monitoring air quality in indoor or outdoor environments by detecting gas, biomolecules and chemicals. 

Bio Graphene Solutions (BGS) recently announced the development of its first graphene-enhanced product for the concrete market. 

Leveraging its capability of converting 100% organic materials into high-quality graphene via a patented cleantech process, BGS has developed a strength performance admixture for commercial concrete mix designs. 

Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and Toshiba Corporation recently demonstrated how graphene-based olfactory sensors could detect odor molecules depending on the design of peptide sequences. They showed that graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) functionalized with designable peptides could be utilized to develop electronic devices that imitate olfactory receptors and then emulate the sense of smell by selectively detecting odor molecules.

Olfactory sensing is an integral part of many industries like food, cosmetics, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. Currently, most commonly utilized methods for detecting and evaluating odor molecules is called gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). While GC–MS is effective, it has certain limitations like confined sensitivity and heavy setup. As a result, researchers are in the search of user-friendly and highly sensitive alternatives.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) houses a room-sized electromechanical machine called the NIST-4 Kibble balance. The instrument can already measure the mass of objects of roughly 1 kilogram as accurately as any device in the world. But now, NIST researchers have used graphene to further improved their Kibble balance’s performance by adding to it a custom-built device that provides an exact definition of electrical resistance.

The device is called the quantum Hall array resistance standard (QHARS), and it consists of a set of several smaller devices that use a quirk of quantum physics to generate extremely precise amounts of electrical resistance. The improvement should help scientists use their balances to measure masses smaller than 1 kilogram with high accuracy, something no other Kibble balance has done before.

Researchers from China's Xi’an Polytechnic University, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Sciences CAS) and Shaanxi Textile Research Institute have found that breathable electrodes woven into fabric used in fire suits have proven to be stable at temperatures over 520ºC. At these temperatures, the fabric is found to be essentially non-combustible with high rates of thermal protection time at the maximum values recorded so far for such technology at 18.91 seconds.

The results show the efficacy and practicality of Janus graphene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole), or PBO, woven fabric in making firefighting “smarter”, with aims to manufacture products on an industrial scale that are flame-retardant but also intelligent enough to warn the firefighter of increased risks while facing flames.

Researchers from QingDao University of Science and Technology have created a proof-of-concept optical tractor beam that can pull macroscopic objects via laser light. 

In the study, the research team essentially amplified the force with which light can pull objects. They accomplished this by developing a composite structure made of graphene-silicon dioxide that, when irradiated with a laser, creates a reverse temperature difference—in other words, the side facing away from the laser warms up. This causes the gas molecules on their back side to receive more energy, pushing the object toward the laser’s source. When conducted in a rarified gas environment, the force was strong enough to move macroscopic objects.

Graphenea recently upgraded its mGFET line of products with a built-in reservoir for liquids. This enhancement increases ease of use for biosensing and implementation in clinical testing and rapid screening.

The mGFET product line is designed to minimize barriers to adoption of graphene as a biosensor. The product was launched at the same time as the Graphenea Card, a socket for housing the mGFET and interfacing with measurement electronics. The addition of the built-in reservoir lets the user focus on the biochemistry, without worrying about producing the graphene or the sensor, or about interfacing.