Graphene production - Page 7

A team of international researchers, including ones from Skoltech, MIPT, the RAS Institute of Solid State Physics and Aalto University, have proposed a unique graphene synthesis technique that utilizes carbon monoxide as the carbon source.

The technique is said to be a fast and cheap way to produce high-quality graphene with relatively simple equipment for use in electronic circuits, gas sensors, optics, and more.

Researchers from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Saint Petersburg State Marine Technical University, Institute of Nanotechnology of Microelectronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have found the reason why instead of burning down at high temperatures, graphene oxide opens the door to a promising and inexpensive graphene production method.

The search for a cheap and efficient route of graphene fabrication is still ongoing. Graphene reduction from graphene oxide by laser irradiation appears as a promising route: with graphene oxide produced from ordinary graphite using chemical methods, the laser-aided reduction technique holds much promise in terms of cost and controllability of the resulting material quality.

Poland-based Advanced Graphene Products has signed a cooperation agreement with U.S-based Garmor, a division of Asbury Carbons, aiming to increase the scale of operations and expand its markets.

Advanced Graphene Products entered the Warsaw NewConnect market at the end of November last year. The company has an annual production capacity of 100kg of graphene flakes and 150m² of single-crystal graphene sheets. This production capacity will allow commercialization of the developed graphene applications on an industrial scale.

U.S-based graphene flakes producer Avadain has announced that it will upscale its environmentally friendly process to mass production as part of a two-year project funded by a $3.77 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).

We are excited to unleash the Graphene Revolution by making large, thin and nearly defect free graphene flakes available in industrial volumes and acceptable cost, says Bradley Larschan, CEO of Avadain.

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with Wood (a consulting and engineering company), with an aim to reach binding agreements for Wood to design and deliver major graphene manufacturing expansion projects.

Wood will support GMG in scaling up and automating its proprietary natural gas to graphene manufacturing process. The parties’ intent is for Wood to become GMG’s engineering, design and construction contractor for GMG’s near and long-term graphene manufacturing facility needs in Australia and overseas.

Scientists at Rice University are using machine-learning techniques to fine-tune the process of synthesizing graphene from waste through flash Joule heating. The researchers describe in their new work how machine-learning models that adapt to variables and show them how to optimize procedures are helping them push the technique forward.

Machine learning is fine-tuning Rice University’s flash Joule heating method for making graphene from a variety of carbon sources, including waste materials. Credit: Jacob Beckham, from: Phys.org

The process, discovered by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour, has expanded beyond making graphene from various carbon sources to extracting other materials like metals from urban waste, with the promise of more environmentally friendly recycling to come. The technique is the same: blasting a jolt of high energy through the source material to eliminate all but the desired product. However, the details for flashing each feedstock are different.

UK-based graphene developer Haydale announced its financial results for its 2021 financial year. Yearly revenues reached £2.9 million (down 2% from FY2020), while net loss was reduced by 15% to £3.41 million. Cash outflow was reduced by 52% to £1.58 million.

Haydale is still cautious regarding its short-term revenue, but it is optimistic regarding the long-term potential, and Haydale reports that it ordered a larger HT1400 plasma reactor, which will significantly increase the company's capacity to allow production to move to an industrial level in 2022.

Versarien announced its interim financial results for the six months ended 30 September, 2021. Revenues were £3.82 million (up 41% from £2.71 million in H1 2020), while reported net loss was reduced to £3.11 million (down from £4.34 million in H1 2020). At the end of the period, Versarien had £3.46 million in cash and equivalents.

The company is now focused on two main application areas, textiles and concrete - for which it sees excellent opportunities in the near future. Versarien is increasing its production capacity. It has recently acquired graphene manufacturing assets in Spain, which will provide an additional 100 annual ton capacity, it has ordered equipment that will enable it to increase graphene ink production capacity by 12,000 liters per year and it has signed a lease on a new dedicated graphene production facility in Gloucestershire.

G6 Materials (Formerly called Graphene 3D Lab) has installed a new pilot-scale graphene oxide (GO) reactor at its Ronkonkoma New York facility.

G6M says that the new reactor increases the company’s GO production capacity five-fold. The first batch of graphene oxide from the New Reactor was produced on November 26, 2021.

US-based NeoGraf Solutions, a leading graphite developer and producer, announced that it has started to produce graphene (GNP) materials, branded as Graf-X. The company mainly targets thermoset and thermoset and thermoplastic applications.

NeoGraf says that it has an annual capacity of over 750 metric tons for its GNP material, and over 1,300 tons of its graphene precursors (GP), which are graphite products design to enable efficient conversion into graphene materials. The company produces its graphene in Lakewood, Ohio.