Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 15

NanoXplore recently reported that it received a blanket purchase order from Martinrea International to supply graphene for fuel and brake lines for passenger vehicles produced by North American automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).

These graphene-enhanced products were tested and approved by OEMs and reportedly demonstrate significant lifetime improvements in comparison with existing solutions in the market. These parts will be supplied to OEMs by Martinrea within already-awarded multi-year fuel and brake line supply programs.

Update: the MSI RTX 3000 graphene-enhanced GPUs are now shipping

MSI, a global computer hardware manufacturer, has revealed that it is utilizing graphene composites in its RTX 3000 series GPUs.

It seems that the graphene composite parts are replacing the backplate, traditionally made of plastic, and provide greater heat dissipation performance and better stiffness to handle the weight of the entire card while still weighing less than plastics.

Spain-based Gnanomat recently announced the launch of its graphene-based nanocomposites.

Gnanomat stated that its manufacturing process technology offers the possibility to generate a broad range of different advanced materials for use in different industrial applications. Further nanomaterials will, in the following months, be added to supply both research and industrial customers. These products will allow the Company's clients to perform preliminary tests and open the possibility to co-develop advanced materials that meet their technical demands. Gnanomat products formulation and process have been designed for supply at industrial quantities.

Zen Graphene Solutions recently announced that it has signed a new research collaboration agreement with the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, the German Aerospace Center) to investigate the use of Albany Pure graphene-based nanomaterials in the fabrication of novel carbon aerogel composites.

The goal of this collaborative research project titled, Development of Innovative Composites based on Carbon Aerogels, is to develop electrode materials for new generation batteries and will build on the collaboration between ZEN, DLR and Dr. Lukas Bichler at the University of British Columbia‐Okanagan Campus (UBC-O) that was previously reported.

A research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has announced the production of graphene masks with a reported anti-bacterial efficiency of 80%, which can be enhanced to almost 100% with exposure to sunlight for around 10 minutes.

CityU's graphene-enhanced masks. Credit: City University of Hong Kong

Initial tests also showed very promising results in the deactivation of two species of coronaviruses. The graphene masks are reportedly easily produced at a low cost, and can help to resolve the problems of sourcing raw materials and disposing of non-biodegradable masks.

Researchers at Penn State, Northeastern University and five universities in China have developed and tested a stretchable, wearable gas sensor for environmental sensing.

The sensor combines a newly developed laser-induced graphene foam material with a unique form of molybdenum disulfide and reduced-graphene oxide nanocomposites. The researchers were interested in seeing how different morphologies of the gas-sensitive nanocomposites affect the sensitivity of the material to detecting nitrogen dioxide molecules at very low concentration. To change the morphology, they packed a container with very finely ground salt crystals.

MITO Material Solutions, a developer of performance-enhancing additives for polymers, has announced an oversubscribed $1 Million Series Seed funding round led by two Chicago-based firms, Dipalo Ventures and Clean Energy Trust.

This investment follows MITO Materials receipt of more than $1.1 million in R&D grants from the National Science Foundation and participation in the Heritage Group Hardtech Accelerator powered by Techstars in late 2019. Additional Series Seed investors who participated in this round include Charlottesville, Virginia-based, CavAngels; Indiana-based HG Ventures, Elevate Ventures, and VisionTech Angels; and Oklahoma-based, Cortado Ventures.

G6 Materials, formerly known as Graphene 3d Lab, has announced finalizing the research and development project to develop graphene-based composite materials for marine vessel applications with a private Singaporean company.

G6's Singaporean partner has accepted its final research report and the Company expects to receive a final payment from the Partner of approximately $117,500 US Dollars. During the Project, G6 successfully developed two formulations for graphene-enhanced resins for fiberglass and carbon fiber marine composites.

Chinese researchers have developed a new preparation method for hybrid graphene composites by introducing new electrochemical techniques, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

A research team led by Li Xinheng of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics has prepared high-performance graphene composites through the new preparation method.

As part of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers continue innovating and investigating improvements in personal protective technology, such as nanotechnology for safer masks. One of the companies involved in this quest is a firm called Flextrapower (formerly Bonbouton), created to leverage research originally created in Stevens labs for biomedical applications.

Flextrapower has been developing several graphene-based applications, including the most recent COVID-focused effort, a graphene mask.