Graphene Quantum Dots: Introduction and Market News - Page 4

NIST physicists have spatially and magnetically confined electrons within graphene atoms into cake-like nanostructures, proving theoretical speculations, and promising applications for quantum computing. It was said that the experiment confirms how electrons interact in a tightly confined space according to long-untested rules of quantum mechanics. The findings could also have practical applications in quantum computing".

Scientists have to confine quantum dots in space to work with them, but the NIST researchers thought of applying a magnetic field to see how electrons orbiting quantum dots would behave. Using a scanning tunneling microscope, the team found that electrons packed together more and arranged themselves into concentric rings that alternate between conducting and insulating energy levels, shaped like a tiered cake.

Dotz Nano recently reported a successful industrial production pilot to mark special packages with its advanced marker named ValiDotz, to prevent counterfeiting of top brands in China.

The production pilot was performed together with Kecai Printing Company (a subsidiary of Brilliant Circle Holding International Limited, the industry leader in China's cigarette packaging industry), at their top-tier Shenzhen facilities, and its results were deemed as a success.

Green Science Alliance, part of the Fuji Pigment corporation, has created graphene quantum dot inkjet ink. The prepared graphene quantum dot inkjet ink can be printed on various types of substrates including regular paper and films.

The ink is invisible under normal room light and becomes visible when lit by specific light types. In addition, emission spectra peak will be different depending on the different wavelength of illuminated light, which can be useful for anti-counterfeiting applications.

Dotz Nano has secured a firm purchase order for 10 kilograms of its graphene quantum dots product called Validotz. According to Dotz Nano CEO Dr Moti Gross, the purchase order represents the company’s transition from R&D to a commercially orientated company as it moves our Validotz into the realm of industrial sectors.

Validotz are graphene quantum dots made from plain and simple coal for use in optical, medical imaging, bio-med, sensing, electronic, photovoltaic and monitoring applications. According to Dotz Nano, in contrast to classic silicon quantum dots, the alternative graphene-based dots are biocompatible, photostable and inherit superior thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties.

Two novel 2D materials, graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, and the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope these were the ingredients used to create a novel kind of a so-called quantum dot. These extremely small nanostructures allow delicate control of individual electrons by fine-tuning their energy levels directly. Such devices can be key for modern quantum technologies.

The theoretical simulations for the new technology were performed at TU Wien. The experiment involved RWTH Aachen and the team around Nobel-prize laureates Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov from Manchester who prepared the samples.

Dotz Nano is now planning to sell its graphene quantum dots into Australia and New Zealand after entering an exclusive distribution agreement with Australia-based Recochem. The agreement between the companies allows for a five-month evaluation period where the companies can explore each other’s performance in the regions’ markets, with a comprehensive agreement to be finalized by June.

Under the initial MoU, Dotz Nano will provide Recochem with samples of its graphene quantum dots for numerous applications, with sales terms to be agreed on a customer-by-customer basis.

Dotz Nano, a nano-technology company focusing on the development, manufacture and commercialization of graphene quantum dots (GQDs), recently announced that it has completed a capital raising for proceeds of AUD $3.8 million (almost $3 million USD) before costs.

The Placement was reportedly heavily oversubscribed, with settlement of the Placement to occur in two tranches. The funds will be used as working capital to fund the Company’s commercialization activities.

Dotz Nano has signed an exclusive three-year distribution and sales agreement to sell $15 million USD of its graphene quantum dots to joint venture China Israel (hengqin) Science Technology Innovation Center (CisticPoly). The company’s 100%-owned subsidiary Dotz Nano (Israel) secured the contract which will generate at least $2.5 million USD this year.

Pending product specification approvals, CisticPoly will distribute the graphene quantum dots into China. Subject to approvals, in the first 12 months, CisticPoly will purchase at least $2.5 million in graphene quantum dots, with the second milestone comprising purchases amounting to $7.5 million within 24 months and $15 million by 36 months.

Following Dotz Nano's MoU with Colorplastic to develop GQDs-enhanced polymers and surface modificants in October 2017, the Company announced its first major purchasing agreement for the sale of GQDs with Colorplastic.

According to the said agreement, Colorplastic agreed to purchase $300,000 USD of GQDs per annum. The price per kg is not disclosed in order to protect Dotz Nano's pricing policy. Colorplastic’s purchase of GQDs is conditional on it receiving specific purchase orders for GQD enhanced polymers and plastics from its customers.

Researchers at Columbia Engineering, working with colleagues from Princeton and Purdue Universities and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, have engineered "artificial graphene" by recreating, for the first time, the electronic structure of graphene in a semiconductor device.

Etched pillars define the positions of quantum dots (red puddles) arranged in an hexagonal lattice. When the spacing between the quantum dots is sufficiently small, electrons can move between them.

Graphene comes in one atomic arrangement: the positions of the atoms in the graphene lattice are fixed, and so all experiments on graphene must adapt to those constraints. On the other hand, in artificial graphene the lattice can be engineered over a wide range of spacings and configurations, making it convenient for condensed researchers because it will have more versatile properties than the natural material.