Graphene Oxide: Introduction and Market News - Page 18

University of Adelaide researchers are developing fertilizers with a graphene carrier that could lower environmental impacts and reduce costs for farmers. In partnership with industry, the researchers have demonstrated effective slow release fertilizers can be produced from loading essential trace elements onto graphene oxide sheets.

Using graphene as a carrier means the fertilizers can be applied in a more targeted way, with overall increased efficiency and great nutrient uptake by the plants. The graphene-based carriers have so far been demonstrated with the micronutrients zinc and copper. Work is reportedly continuing with macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate.

Scientists from CSIRCentral Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) and CSIRCentral Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI) in India have collected discarded lithium-ion batteries and created reduced graphene oxide from them. The material reportedly showed high specific capacity at low current, making it an ideal material for next generation high-performance supercapacitors.

The specific capacity was found to be 112 farad per gram from fundamental evaluation, which is almost equal to the commercially available ones. Also the ones available in market today are created using activated carbon which is expensive and environmentally hazardous while our method is cheaper and fully environmental friendly explains the team.

The Department of Energy (DoE) has selected six projects that seek to make carbon capture technology more affordable and reliable for use in coal-fired power plants to receive $17.3 million in federal funding. Among the project is one graphene project.

The Institute of Gas and Technology has been awarded $2.9 million to develop a transformational graphene oxide-based membrane process for post-combustion carbon capture. The project has also secured $750,052 in non-federal funding.

Zenyatta Ventures recently stated that it will concentrate efforts on the next generation lithium-ion battery (‘LIB’) utilizing advanced nanomaterials. Recent testing has shown Zenyatta’s graphene oxide combined with silicon to perform well in this new advanced battery being developed by an innovative materials company in the United States.

This advanced battery program is part of a broader graphene development strategy; Along with the new LIB’s, the Company will also focus on using its graphene for enhancing present day composite materials like concrete, rubber and plastic.

Zenyatta Ventures has announced significant results from the cement-based composite test work that was recently conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel. BGU tested the performance of Zenyatta graphene oxide in a new cement/concrete admixture and the results demonstrated a remarkable reinforcing effect, with a compressive strength enhancement of 34% and a flexural strength enhancement of 62% over normal cement paste.

Dr. Oren Regev, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at BGU, stated These enhancements are among the highest reported in the literature for nanocarbon-loaded matrices (Carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoplatelets and other GO available in the market), suggesting that Zenyatta GO is extremely attractive for cement nano-reinforcement.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the University of Manchester and Chalmers University of Technology have shown that the human immune system handles graphene oxide in a manner similar to pathogens, possibly leading to safer biomedical applications in the future.

Graphene oxide is currently being studied for use in various drug delivery methods and other medical applications (among other non-medical applications). However, it is of critical importance to understand how these materials interact with the body. The study shows that neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell specialized in combating infections, release so-called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) when encountering GO. NETs are made up of a "spider-web" of DNA decorated with proteins that help neutrophils to destroy microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

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Spain based graphene producer Graphenea has launched a new Chinese edition of its web site to specifically target the growing Chinese graphene market. China is becoming a leading adopter of graphene technologies, and Graphenea aims to supply its high-end materials for corporations in China.

Graphenea produces CVD graphene sheets, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide materials, which are on sale now in China via its online store.

Graphenea reports a successful 2017, with an impressive $1.9 million in sales revenue and a number of milestones. The company reveals that production volumes were expanded for both its staple products graphene oxide and CVD graphene. A 1 tonne per year (tpa) graphene oxide production plant has been established at Graphenea's location in San Sebastian, Spain, where new CVD graphene growth and transfer systems for 100 mm (4) and 150 mm (6) diameter wafers have been installed. Equipment for 200 mm (8) is expected soon.

The increase of production quantity was reportedly accompanied with an enhanced focus on quality and compliance - the graphene oxide product was pre-registered with the European Chemical Agency (REACH pre-registration), a necessary administrative step for producers that sell more than 1 tpa of any chemical. CVD graphene is now produced in a class 1000 clean-room, leading to record-high carrier mobility. Graphenea has also been awarded with an ISO 9001 certificate for Quality Management System.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed graphene sensors embedded into RFIDs, which may have the potential to revolutionize the Internet of Things (IoT). The team layered graphene-oxide over graphene to create a flexible heterostructures that function as humidity sensors for remote sensing with the ability to connect to any wireless network.

The novel aspect of this development is that such sensors can be printed layer-by-layer for scalable mass production at very low costs. The device also requires no battery source as it harvests power from the receiver.