University of Manchester - Page 14

Researchers at the University of Manchester have demonstrated how graphene's conductivity and flexibility will prove crucial to wearable electronic applications, opening the door to battery-free healthcare and fitness monitoring, phones, internet-ready devices and chargers to be incorporated into clothing and ‘smart skin’ applications (printed graphene-based sensors integrated with other 2D materials and put onto a patient’s skin to monitor temperature, strain and moisture levels).

The researchers printed graphene to create transmission lines and antennae and experimented with these in communication devices. They used a mannequin to which they attached graphene-enabled antennae on each arm, and found that the devices were able to communicate with each other, effectively creating an on-body communications system. These results show that such graphene-based components have the required quality and functionality for wireless wearable devices.

A new partnership between The University of Manchester and a leading Chinese aviation company (BIAM - Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials) might result in lighter, stronger and possibly conductive graphene-enhanced parts for aeroplanes, high speed trains and other industrial equipment to replace traditional materials.

The partnership aims to promote the research and development in graphene reinforced aluminium matrix composites areas, and accelerate the application of graphene in the aviation industry and other sectors. In this project, BIAM and the University will exchange expertise and cooperate on the structural characterization and property testing of graphene reinforced aluminium matrix nanocomposites.

In early November, the graphene-info team visited the UK - the birthplace of graphene. Our first stop was Cambridge - visiting FlexEnable and Cambridge Nanosystems - and then we headed for the Cambridge Graphene Center for a two-day graphene conference. We finished the tour with a trip up north to Manchester, to see the NGI, Manchester University's Graphene institute.

While we try to be on top of everything that is related to graphene, our first impression from the visits and the conference is that the graphene industry is much more active than it seemed. There are many very exciting projects, some on the verge of commercialization, and it looks like graphene is going to make a larger impact than we expected in the near future. We came back very encouraged!

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester has entered into a collaborative partnership with Alpha, an electronic soldering and bonding materials supplier, to develop the next generation of graphene-based electronic materials.

Morgan Advanced Materials recently participated in the first official experiment conducted in a novel collaboration between industry and academia, which has taken place at the University of Manchester. 

Morgan Advanced Materials teamed up last year with The University of Manchester to explore the potential of graphene, with a full-time team based at the University's National Graphene Institute (NGI). This project is focused on scaling up Manchester's patented technology to produce graphene by a process that has molecules driven between the layers of a graphite electrode to separate them.

University of Manchester Nobel laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov has been awarded a £4m grant to research 2D materials. The grant will allow a team of UK academics, led by Sir Kostya, to further investigate the properties of 2D materials, which could pave the way for designer materials to meet the demands of industry, and incorporate graphene in various commercial applications.

Several sources indicate that Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei is expected to announce an investment in graphene in a deal to deepen scientific collaboration between China and Britain.

Huawei is said to invest millions of pounds into a research project led by The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute. The research project will aim to examine prospective applications of graphene to the information and communications technology sectors.

A research partnership between the University of Central Lancashire’s College of Science and Technology and Civic Drone Center, and the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute yielded a graphene-enhanced UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).

A test flight of the UAV was recently carried out, aiming to trial the graphene within the UAV to test its robustness, aerodynamic properties and how it can be integrated into the manufacturing process. The researchers work to explore how graphene can be integrated within the aerospace industry, and collaborating with the National Graphene Institute provided the partners with an opportunity to conduct research with a viable real-world application.

The University of Manchester has been awarded a £3 million research grant to develop breakthrough applications for various 2D materials, graphene included. The five year grant, from charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation, will aim to examine how combining one-atom-thick materials could create unique materials, customized for the demands of industry and commercial applications like flexible optoelectronics, gas separation and water desalination.

Sir Andre Geim, the Physics Nobel prize laureate, will lead a consortium that includes Harvard University, National University of Singapore, ETH Zurich and the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science. Geim states that the subject area has now matured and is ready for applications. The consortium plans to exploit the breakthrough discoveries made by its groups over the last 10 years and endeavour into unknown territories, aiming at opening new research fronts and developing fundamentally new technologies. 

The University of Manchester has released an artist’s impression of how the next £60m phase of the Graphene Valley will look. The Graphene Engineering Innovation Center will be a research and development facility focusing on the practical applications of graphene and other 2D materials.

The GEIC will be one of several buildings in Manchester dedicated to graphene and 2D material research, alongside the £61m National Graphene Institute, which opened earlier this year, and the £235m Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation, set to be built within the University of Manchester’s Oxford Road campus. The GEIC scheme is set to complete in 2017.