Graphene Oxide: Introduction and Market News - Page 30

A research team at the University of Michigan utilized Japanese paper cutting techniques, called kirigami, to create a new type of flexible conductor. The team believes that this technique may open up big possibilities for implantable medical devices, which have to flex and bend within the human body to work. Another option is gadgets that won't break when bending or flexing.

The first prototype of the kirigami stretchable conductor consisted of tracing paper covered in carbon nanotubes. The layout was quite simple, with cuts like rows of dashes. Later concepts were more intricate. for example, conductor sheets made out of graphene oxide, with etching cuts into the surface just a tenth of a millimeter long using laser beams and a plasma of oxygen ions and electrons.

A team of scientists from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea announced the successful development of a technology to make a washable, flexible and highly-sensitive textile-type gas sensor.

This technology is based on coating graphene using molecular adhesives to textile like nylon, cotton, or polyester so that textile can check whether or not gas exists in the air. When graphene oxides meet the NO2 found in methane gases at room temperatures, their resistivity changes based on the gas density. Consequently, when putting out a fire or entering an area in which air conditions are hard to determine, it will be possible for firefighters to check the condition of the air through a connected device by wearing work clothes with gas sensors made from textiles.

Researchers from the University of Maryland found that intercalating (embedding) sodium ions in a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) network, printed with graphene oxide (GO) ink, can significantly improve its performance as a transparent conductor in displays, solar cells and electronic devices.

The scientists used cost-effective materials and production techniques to receive a highly scalable printed electronics system that produces relatively inexpensive and stable conductors. The team theorizes the increased stability is due to the natural oxidation of sodium along the edges of the printed networks which forms a barrier that prevents ion loss. Networks printed with the ink exhibit up to 79 percent optical transmittance and 311 Ohms per square of sheet resistance.

Australia's Strategic Energy Resources entered into an exclusive worldwide licence to commercialize graphene-oxide membrane technology developed by Monash University.

SER's wholly-owned subsidiary Ionic Industries has full rights to exploit and commercialize the IP, including by direct sale or by sublicensing, within the field of energy storage and capacitor materials, and devices from indigenous natural graphite. Ionic will pay a royalty to Monash if the commercialization is successful.

Graphene Flagship researchers show how graphene oxide, suspended in water, biodegrades in a reaction catalyzed by a human enzyme, with the effectiveness of the breakdown dependent on the colloidal stability of the suspension. The study should push forward the development of graphene-based biomedical applications.

As part of the interest in the health and safety aspects of graphene, risks are being investigated by researchers linked with Europe's Graphene Flagship with the safe disposal of graphene at the end of its useful life being of particular interest. The scientists examined the biodegradation of graphene oxide by an enzyme. They show that myeloperoxidase, derived from human white blood cells in the presence of a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide, can completely metabolize graphene oxide in the case of highly dispersed samples. They also found that highly aggregated suspensions of graphene oxide fail to biodegrade in the presence of myeloperoxidase, but the more stable colloids were completely broken down by the enzyme.

Garmor, which was spun-off from from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2013, announced that it increased its single-machine graphene-oxide production capacity to 20 tons per year. Garmor is using its own proprietary automated environmentally-friendly production system that produces GO and has a single by-product: water.

Garmor offers their system as a turn-key solution, so customers can produce graphene oxide on-site. The 20 ton capacity is for a single machine, and Garmor aims to increase the capacity to 100 tons per year.

Nokia recently issued a patent for a graphene oxide-based sensor for protection of mobile devices against water damages. The sensor will use a graphene oxide sensing film senses moisture content or change in relative humidity and triggers an ultra-fast disconnection of the mobile device from its power source (battery).

The sensor will include a sensor capable of sensing water in liquid or vapor form based on the measurement of large time derivative values. The sensor will comprise of a graphene oxide thin film and two or more electrodes in contact with the thin film. An electronic switch will be connected to the sensor and to a power source that powers the circuitry in the electronic device. The GO can be easily integrated into the sensor as a thin film by printing it on the power source's surface.The film should be less than 100 nanometers thick and could also be spray-coated or spin-coated onto the surface.

Researchers at the Nankai University in China noticed that when cutting a graphene sponge (a sponge-like material made by fusing crumpled sheets of graphene oxide) with a laser, the light propelled the material forwards. While lasers have been previously used to move single molecules around, the sponge was a few centimeters across and presumably too large to move.

The scientists then placed pieces of graphene sponge in a vacuum and shot them with lasers of different wavelength and intensity. They managed to push sponge pieces upwards by as much as 40 centimeters. They even got the graphene to move by focusing sunlight on it with a lens.

Ionic Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Strategic Energy Resources, has released the results of an engineering scoping study for its planned pilot plant, to compliment the previously released marketing study for SuperSand. The studies confirm the economic viability of the planned pilot scale graphene oxide and SuperSand facility.

Ionic has commissioned Minnovo Pty Ltd, an independent engineering group, to examine the feasibility of a pilot plant to produce graphene oxide (GO) and multiple SuperSand products using Ionic’s technology. Ionic will concentrate on two areas where its research and development teams have already made significant advances: graphene based high performance energy storage devices, and filtration in various industries for environmental pollutant decontamination and resource extraction.

Researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and the University of Michigan in the US demonstrated improved LFP battery cathode, augmented by reduced graphene oxide. The scientists used reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in LFP battery cathodes to create a new high surface area 3D composite.

LFP (or LiFePO4) is a kind of Li-Ion rechargeable battery for high power applications, such as electric vehicls, Power Tools and more. LFP cells feature high discharging current, non explosive nature and long cycle life, but its energy density is lower than normal Li-Ion cell. In this study, the researchers created the composite using a nickel foam template that was coated with layers of graphene oxide. The graphene oxide reduced as the LFP nanoparticles were synthesized in a simple technique that allows larger amounts of the LFP to be loaded into the carbon material.