Graphene production

Researchers from Khalifa University of Science and Technology have demonstrated the production of few-layered graphene sheets with high lateral sizes (4–5 μm) through a state-of-the-art solar irradiation-driven liquid-phase exfoliation technique.

In this method, the sunlight is directly used on the intercalated graphite flakes for just 0.5 s to achieve the graphite expansion. Using focused sunlight makes this solar expansion technique sustainable with zero energy demand (0 J) - the total energy spent to produce 1 kg of graphene through this technique is only around 2.135 MJ. 

Israeli-based 2D Generation (2DG), which specializes in graphene-based solutions for semiconductors, has been acquired by ASX-listed Adisyn (ASX:AI1), a provider of tech services for SMEs in the Australian defense sector that has expanded its focus to the semiconductor industry through this acquisition.

Adisyn is also one of the founders of Connecting Chips European Union Joint Undertaking, a collaboration that includes industry leaders like NVIDIA, Valeo, and Applied Materials. This acquisition not only brings Adisyn cutting-edge technology, but potentially opens the door for the company to enter the semiconductor space.

Malaysia-headquartered Graphjet Technology, developer of technologies to produce graphite and graphene from agricultural waste, has announces it is starting the 'world’s largest commercial-scale green graphite facility outside China'.

The more than 8,300-sq.-metre plant in Kuala Lumpur has the capacity to recycle up to 9,000 tonnes of palm kernel shells annually for as much as 3,000 tonnes of battery-grade graphite per year, Graphjet said in a recent statement. The output can make enough batteries for 40,000 electric vehicles a year.  

UK-based climate technology company, Levidian, and Kanoo Energy, a part of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The Kanoo Group in the UAE, have announced a new partnership to drive forward decarbonization projects across the Middle East.

The collaboration agreement will see the two companies work together to jointly explore and execute projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. Kanoo will also work as Levidian’s dedicated Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) partner within the region.

Inovartic Investment Lanka, a joint venture between Sri Lanka’s Apex Asia Holdings and UAE’s Inovartic Investment, has announced the launch of the Abu Dhabi University Graphene Center – an advanced facility dedicated to pioneering research in graphene technology.

This center was inaugurated at Abu Dhabi University to drive scientific progress and international collaborations in nanotechnology, aligning with the UAE’s “Make It in the UAE” initiative. This ambitious project brings together Inovartic Investment, Abu Dhabi University, and the Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology (SLINTEC) to explore graphene applications across sectors, including electronics, medical devices, EV batteries, water treatment, agriculture, materials science, and energy.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is offering Italian materials manufacturer BeDimensional €20 million (almost USD$22 million) in venture debt financing to expand production of Few-Layer Graphene (FLG) and Few-Layer Hexagonal Boron Nitride (FLhBN or FLB).  

EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and BeDimensional Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Pellegrini announced the financing accord at the inauguration of the company's plant in Genoa. BeDimensional plans to build a second plant in Italy to scale-up production of FLG and FLB by 2027.

A research team from the University of Córdoba (UCO) has developed a new prototype that could lead opens the door to the large-scale production of graphene. This new method, which has already been registered for evaluation as a patent and is based on a previous patent by the same team, increases the production of graphene by more than 22%, with the process maintaining the high quality that characterizes graphene synthesized with this technology.

The work is based on plasma technology, a partially ionized gas often referred to as the fourth state of matter. One of its great advantages, highlighted the study's lead author, Francisco Javier Morales, is that "it is a highly energetic medium that is capable of breaking down organic molecules very easily." Specifically, the team used this plasma torch to break down ethanol and rearrange the molecule's carbon atoms, resulting in the creation of graphene.

Imperial College London has spun out a company called 2D Nano, led by Dr. Andrius Patapas, Professor Omar Matar, Professor Camille Petit (Department of Chemical Engineering), and Dr. Jason Stafford (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham), to pioneer the production of advanced materials like graphene, boron nitride, molybdenum disulfide, and more. 

Recently, 2D Nano reportedly secured £2 million in funding from private investors, allowing the Company to scale up production of 2D materials to several tonnes per year. Their internal research and development suggests this can lead to the manufacturing of graphene-enhanced products in excess of 100,000 t/y. The Company is particularly focused on deploying its materials in high-demand sectors such as concrete, coatings, and energy storage, where significant sustainability benefits can be realized. 

Researchers from Nagoya University, Osaka University and National Taiwan University recently developed a method for the high-speed, large-area deposition of two-dimensional (2D) materials, including oxides, graphene oxide, and boron nitride. This innovative technique, known as the "spontaneous integrated transfer method," was discovered by chance; however, it could significantly improve the production of nanosheets.

Traditionally, methods like chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique have been employed for nanosheet fabrication. However, these methods have significant disadvantages, including difficulties in achieving uniform, large-area deposition and complications in the substrate transfer process. Aiming to develop a more effective deposition technology, the research team discovered a fascinating phenomenon completely by chance: when nanosheets get wet, they spontaneously align themselves on the surface of water, forming dense films within a mere 15 seconds. This process, termed the "spontaneous spreading phenomenon," suggested a more effective deposition technology.

In 2015, scientists at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, and collaborators from institutions in Australia, Singapore, Japan, and the US developed a technique for growing graphene from tea tree extract. Now, scientists from James Cook University developed a process to synthesize graphene from tangerine peel oil, which they then used to recover silver from waste PV material. To demonstrate the quality of the recovered silver and the synthesized graphene, they made a dopamine sensor that reportedly outperformed reference devices.

The team synthesized “freestanding” graphene using non-toxic and renewable tangerine peel oil that can reportedly be used for the recovery of silver from end-of-life organic PV devices. The researchers said that their process result in high-quality graphene and demonstrated a remarkable ability to selectively recover silver from photovoltaic waste. One of the most surprising findings, according to the team, was how selective the graphene was in targeting silver.