Graphenea - Page 7

Scientists from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Saudi Arabia, along with Graphenea, designed an improved process for achieving wafer-scale fabrication of graphene devices. The process is said to be reliable and produce graphene sheets that are smooth and uniform across the wafer, conformally covering the electrode structures. 

The process relies on a series of actions that overturns traditional fabrication norms - lithography and contact evaporation are performed prior to graphene transfer. In the research, the scientists studied the values reported in literature for contact and sheet resistance obtained with the standard graphene fabrication and transfer method. Focusing on graphene grown by CVD, they found that there is significant scatter in the reported values. The scientists then performed the standard procedure themselves, finding that the resulting graphene sheet is inhomogeneous, with defects appearing in random places. 

Graphenea recently introduced large area monolayer graphene suspended over microcavities as a standard catalog product, that can be used for NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical systems) due to its reliance on small vibrating membranes, which are sensitive to tiny forces.

Image courtesy of Stefan Wagner / Max Lemme, University of Siegen

NEMS are entering mainstream technology through sensors and actuators in platforms as common as inkjet printers, accelerometers, displays, and optical switches. The membranes used in NEMS need to be lightweight and stiff, with a high Young's modulus. As such, graphene is a very promising candidate for applications that require ultrathin membranes with excellent mechanical properties.

Graphenea, the leading graphene manufacturer and supplier, announced plans to construct a new graphene pilot plant. $2.5 million will be invested in building the plant, which is meant to be opened in 24 months and multiply production capacity by 200 times.

Graphenea was granted $1.8 million by the EU for the construction of this plant, as part of the Horizon 2020 program 'SME Instrument' for the enlargement and growth of its industrial project. The other $700,000 come from Graphenea's own equity from its last financing round. Graphenea also stated that: "if the phase pilot plant is successful, Graphenea will move to an industrial phase that will require a larger investment."

A European collaboration of scientists from Romania, Greece, Italy, and Ireland demonstrated a graphene antenna that operates in the microwave part of the spectrum and can be tuned by applying a voltage. Graphenea supplied the graphene for this research.  

The antenna is less than 1mm thick and has a planar diameter of 100mm, which according to the team makes it one of the smallest microwave antennas in the existence. It was produced using a simple fabrication procedure and a standard CVD graphene layer on an SoI substrate.

Saint Jean Carbon is a publicly traded junior mining exploration company with graphite mining claims on five properties located in Canada. It has recently signed an initial Letter of Intent (LOI) with Graphenea to act as the distributor of a wide range of graphene products marketed to customers across the Canadian market.

Saint Jean Carbon's goal in working with Graphenea is to leverage its direct experience and contacts within the carbon and graphite sectors to expand its presence in the emerging graphene marketplace. The company has stated its interest in developing several graphene applications, like new compounds in energy storage and collection, bioelectric sensory devices used in DNA sequencing, nanoporous membranes used in desalination plants and high-strength light-weight carbon fibres in aerospace applications.

Graphenea recently announced its independence as it is no longer tied to its promoter and scientific founder, CIC nanoGUNE. This move was done five years after the company was set up and was agreed upon fron the start as one of the stipulations of the foundational agreement with Nanotechnology Investment Group SL.

After the signing of Graphenea's "declaration of independence", both parties acknowledge that the expectations raised five years ago have been met and that the mutual collaboration has been excellent. Graphenea will continue with the production and commercialization of graphene, and nanoGUNE will continue with its research on the electronic and optical properties of this nanomaterial. Thereby, both entities may continue to collaborate in future research projects. 

The Spanish Graphenea, along with Russian and Spanish collaborators, have shown that adding graphene to alumina improves the ceramic's wear resistance and decreases friction. The result is expected to soon find uses in real products, as graphene and its derivatives seem to be biocompatible and in addition carry a low cost.

Alunima (an oxide of aluminium) has been long in use in biomedical applications such as load-bearing hip prostheses and dental implants, due to its high resistance to corrosion, low friction, high wear resistance and strength. This recent study describes the dry sliding behavior of a graphene/alumina composite material and compares it to regular alumina. The wear rate of the advanced composite was 50% lower than that of pure alumina, while the friction coefficient was reduced by 10%. This finding is made even more astonishing by the fact that the concentration of graphene in the final product is only 0.22% by weight. The type of graphene used for the study is Graphenea's standard graphene oxide. 

Graphenea's Inigo Charola recently announced that the Graphene Flagship has established a standardization committee. The committee will aim to deliver a publication within a year regarding standard methods of characterizing graphene. The end goal of the standardization effort is to produce a database of the different forms of graphene with all their properties and ways of measuring those properties, so that graphene sellers can properly categorize their products and buyers will know exactly what they are buying.

Currently there is no established standard for graphene, which causes much confusion in the market. 

The Spanish Graphenea collaborated with researchers from the French CNRS and SENSIA SL to design a graphene-based biosensor and develop a graphene-based method to destroy harmful bacteria.

The researchers studied the possibility to kill E. coli pathogens using reduced graphene oxide (rGO-PEG-NH2) and Au nanorods (Nrs) coated with rGO-PEG-NH2 by laser irradiation. The encapsulation of Au NRs with rGO-PEG not only decreases the toxicity of Au NRs, but also enhances the overall photothermal process and thus the temperatures which can be reached. 99% killing efficiency of bacteria was demonstrated in a water solution, at low concentrations (20-49 mg/ml).

Graphenea announced the closing of a successful financial year, with 2014 sales at over $1.2 million. This figure means that the company more than doubled its 2013 result.

In addition, the company relays it has a positive cash flow, making it a profitable business. Graphenea maintains that most of its customer base has returned for orders last year, making a statement about the reliably and high quality of the graphene on sale.