Graphene Oxide: Introduction and Market News - Page 26

Researchers from AIST in Japan and Nanjing University in China have developed a metal-organic framework-based graphene oxide composite as a separator for Li-S batteries, that could help solve the polysulphide shuttling problem in these batteries. The composite acts as an ionic sieve that selectively separates out Li+ ions while stopping polysulphides migrating to the anode and reportedly helps reduce capacity decay rates down to just 0.019% per cycle over 1500 cycles.

MOFs are ordered solids made of inorganic sub-units connected by organic linkers. They have a large surface area and highly ordered pores, and their porosity can be tuned. According to the researchers, the MOF membrane in this work separates out polysulphides based on their size and shape; The team chose a copper MOF that possesses a 3D structure with micropores that have narrow accessible size windows of around 9 Å. This is smaller than the diameter of lithium polysulphides (that are between 4 and 8 Å in diameter) and so the pores effectively block the sulphides. The researchers found that the MOFs do not degrade even after 200 cycles of battery charge/discharge, and no polysulphides pass through the membrane for 48 hours.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a method to 3D print heating elements. The created heating elements could be very small and at the same time they can create high temperatures.

Heating elements may have various uses, like ones for chemical reactions that often need some sort of heating to work. For this purpose it was common to use a laser to create high temperatures at a small scale, but it is very expensive and doesn’t provide a consistent temperature. This is why researchers decided to develop a new technique to 3D print very small heating elements.

Researchers from Brazil suggest a new way to study the changes generated by oxygenated groups in Graphene Oxide using Coronene as a model molecule.

The researcher ran several experiments and measurements on a series of functionalized coronene molecules, and say that these results provide useful data for the analysis of IR and Raman spectra of GO. The researcher say that the Coronene could provide a useful model to study GO features.

Graphene 3D Lab has announced a new class of graphene materials with exceptional oil absorbance properties. The Company has commissioned a new production reactor that results in a 5-fold increase in the production capabilities of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide; Using this extended capacity, the Company produced a new class of materials: Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide Foams. These foams are in the class of ultralight materials and have density of approximately 20 mg/cm 3 , which is only about 17 times heavier than air.

These new materials are able to hold up to 3,500%-8,000% of their own weight of organic solvents and oils, all while being unaffected by water. This attribute could be significant in minimizing the damage caused by oil spills. Due to its high oil absorption capacity, these porous solid state foams are an excellent solution for fast and effective oil clean-up. In addition, they may also have commercial application in energy storage devices, chemical catalysts and ultrasensitive sensors.

A study coordinated by the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste (SISSA) and the University of Trieste examines how effective graphene oxide flakes are at interfering with excitatory synapses, which could prove useful in new treatments for diseases like epilepsy.

Researchers at the University of Manchester and the University of Castilla -la Mancha have also taken part in this work, that may have discovered a new approach to modulating synapses using graphene oxide. The method uses graphene nano-ribbons (flakes) which buffer activity of synapses simply by being present. The researchers administered aqueous solutions of graphene flakes to cultured neurons in 'chronic' exposure conditions, repeating the operation every day for a week. Analyzing functional neuronal electrical activity, they then traced the effect on synapses.

Researchers at the University of Michigan developed a graphene oxide-based device that could provide a non-invasive way to monitor the progress of an advanced cancer treatment. The device is able to capture cancer cells out of a blood sample and let them go later, enabling further tests that can show whether the therapy is successfully eliminating the most dangerous cancer cells.

The scientists explain that cells released into the bloodstream by tumors could be used to monitor cancer treatment, but they are very difficult to capture, accounting for roughly one in a billion cells. In their quest to develop technologies for capturing such cells from blood samples, they researchers designed devices that trapped the cells on chips made with graphene oxide, but all analysis had to be done on the chip because the cells were firmly adhered. However, it was found important to study cells individually, and this new device makes this possible.

Graphene 3D Lab has announced the commencement of a new production reactor that results in a 5-fold increase of production capabilities of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide.

According to G3L, the necessity of expanding production volume for these materials is driven by increased demand as well as by the internal consumption of the Company's Industrial Materials division. G3L stated that it is committed to staying on track to satisfy the increasing materials demand. said

Garmor, a graphene technology provider and developer of advanced customer-driven applications, has developed graphene-based composites ideal for high-volume electronic and energy storage applications. By leveraging inexpensive manufacturing methods to produce few-layer graphene oxide (GO) along with innovative composite compression molding processes, Garmor produced compression-moldable GO-composites that can be shaped and stamped into almost any form factor. Garmor is currently establishing strategic business relationships to deploy this technological advancement in applications focused on energy production and storage.

These composites exhibit nearly isotropic electrical conductivity exceeding 1,000 S/cm delivering a unique, omnidirectional conductive substrate. Equally impressive is that these GO-enhanced materials include a polymeric resin that is inherently chemically resistant and allows for increased lifetime even in harsh operating environments.

Researchers at the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Nanyang Technological University reported graphene oxide-based microbots (GOx-microbots) that can clean up toxic heavy metals in contaminated water. Tests showed around 95% of lead recovery within in an hour, and these findings may result in reducing the introduction of additional contaminants during water cleaning attempts, and salvaging lead for recycling.

The scientists state that these microbots are more efficient than their predecessors and remove lead 10 times more efficiently than nonmotile GOx-microbots, cleaning water from 1000 ppb down to below 50 ppb in 60 min. The microbots are built on nanosized multilayers of graphene oxide, nickel, and platinum. Researchers say the bots' graphene oxide outer coat captures suspended lead, the inner platinum layer decomposes hydrogen peroxide for self-propulsion, and the middle nickle band allows the machines to be magnetically retrieved from the water. In addition, the autonomous machines can be reused as soon as lead is chemically separated.

Researchers at MIT and Harvard University fabricated nanoscrolls made from graphene oxide flakes for water purification applications, at a much lower cost than that of graphene membranes. The team was able to control the dimensions of each nanoscroll, using both low- and high-frequency ultrasonic techniques.

The researchers say that these nanoscrolls could also be used as ultralight chemical sensors, drug delivery vehicles, and hydrogen storage platforms, in addition to water filters. Also, the ability to tune the dimensions of these architectures may open a window to industry, in combination with the more affordable production costs.