Graphene: one atom thick material with exciting potential!

Korean researchers have made a new type of composite material made from reduced graphene oxide and magnetite that could effectively remove arsenic from drinking water. Arsenic is one of the most carcinogenic elements known and its presence in drinking water is a huge problem in many areas of South Asia and the western United States. Arsenic is usually removed using bare magnetite, but adding graphene makes it much more efficient.

The new magnetite composite was used to remove over 99.9% of arsenic in a sample. The composite can be dispersed in water, and then removed after it has absorbed the arsenic (by using a permanent hand-held magnet).

Korean-based Hanwha group has agreed to give 1$ million in funding to XG Sciences, a Michigan State University spinoff working on Graphene Nanoplatelets. The key to the material's capabilities is a fast and inexpensive process for separating layers of graphene into stacks less than 10 nanometers in thickness but with lateral dimensions anywhere from 100 nm to several microns, coupled with the ability to tailor the particle surface chemistry to make it compatible with water, resin or plastic systems.

Adding xGnP® graphene nanoplatelets to polymers at low concentrations results in nanocomposites that are multifunctional in that they possess an array of enhanced properties—including improved strength and significantly increased electrical and thermal conductivity—leading to new and expanded applications.

via MSU

A group of scientists from Germany, China and the US has created a Graphene-based transistor composed of 13 benzene rings. This molecule (called Coronene) shows an improved electronic band gap, a property which may help to overcome one of the central obstacles to applying graphene technology for electronics.

The team's new approach to make graphene is bottom up—building up the graphene, molecular piece by piece. To do this, Tao relies on the chemical synthesis of benzene rings, hexagonal structures, each formed from 6 carbon atoms. "Benzene is usually an insulating material, " Tao says. But as more such rings are joined together, the material's behavior becomes more like a semiconductor.
Using this process, the group was able to synthesize a coronene molecule, consisting of 13 benzene rings arranged in a well defined shape. The molecule was then fitted on either side with linker groups—chemical binders that allow the molecule to be attached to electrodes, forming a nanoscale circuit. An electrical potential was then passed through the molecule and the behavior, observed. The new structure displayed transistor properties, showing reversible on and off switches.

Researchers at Samsung and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea have produced a large layer of pure graphene - as large as a TV panel. The researchers used a roll-to-roll printing process, and the Graphene was disposed on a polyester sheet.

Such large Graphene can be used in flat panel displays.

via Gizmodo

Angstron Materials has teamed with K2 Energy Solutions to participate in a Department of Energy (DOE) research project for the development of hybrid nano graphene platelet-based high-capacity anodes for Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The team will commercialize its new anode technology which has the capability to capture the high charge capacity allowed with silicon over extended charge/discharge life, using a network of highly conductive yet inexpensive nanoscale graphite filaments.

Angstron and K2 will conduct the project over three phases with initial activity focused on demonstrating the commercial and technical viability of new high-energy anode materials. This will include delivering data on anodes capable of initial specific capacities of 650 mAh/g and achieving ~50 full charge/discharge cycles in small laboratory scale cells (50 to 100 mAh) at the 1C rate with less than 20 percent capacity fade. Phase II will target development of process technology for cost-effective production of the optimized Si-coated NGP/CNF blends.

As the project moves forward, 18650 or larger format cells will be assembled with the anode material, cycled, and examined to evaluate any failure modes under cycling and calendar aging as well as demonstrate cells that show practical and useful cycle life. Upon completion the team will introduce a new nano material platform technology for Li-ion battery anodes. A prototype Li-ion battery (with a lithium iron phosphate cathode) for vehicle applications will be constructed and tested.

Strem Chemicals, Inc, a Cambridge based manufacturer of specialty chemicals for research and development, announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Catalyx Nanotech to make Stacked Graphene NanoFibers (SGNF) available for R&D purposes.

Stacked Graphene Platelet Nanofibers are grown via a patented process that decomposes carbon containing gases in the presence of metal catalyst particles. The structure of the stacked grapheme platelet nano fibres consists of graphene sheets oriented perpendicular to the growth axis like a stack of cards, spaced 0.34nm apart. The fibres have a mean width of 40-50nm and are 100-10,000nm long!

via CambridgeNetwork

Scientists have made a breakthrough toward creating nanocircuitry on graphene, widely regarded as the most promising candidate to replace silicon as the building block of transistors. They have devised a simple and quick one-step process based on thermochemical nanolithography (TCNL) for creating nanowires, tuning the electronic properties of reduced graphene oxide on the nanoscale and thereby allowing it to switch from being an insulating material to a conducting material.