Researchers at Rice University have shown that adding modified graphene nanoribbons to a polymer and then microwaving the mixture appears to reinforce wellbores drilled to extract oil and natural gas, which can make wells more stable and reduce production costs.

The team combined a small amount of the nanoribbons with an oil-based thermoset polymer. The combination then was cured in place with low-power microwaves emanating from the drill assembly, resulting in the composite plugging microscopic fractures. The combination allowed drilling fluid to seep through and destabilize the walls.

China-based Knano Graphene Technology launched an ambitious project to construct a large-scale graphene production plant. We talked to the company's marketing chief to learn more about this interesting project.

Knano aims to finish construction by the end of 2016, and to start shipping products to customers in 2017. The new plant will mostly produce graphene-enhanced pastes, used for coatings and as Li-Ion battery anode materials. Knano says it already has customers that approved these products produced at the company's current production lines.

University of Washington scientists have designed a way to use graphene to encourage photons into stimulating multiple electrons, thus maximizing the transfer of energy and making efficient light-captured energetics possible.

The method exploits graphene's efficient interaction with light; The researchers took a single layer of graphene and sandwiched it between two thin layers of boron-nitride. Boron-nitride has a lattice structure very similar to graphene's, but has very different chemical properties as electrons do not flow easily within boron-nitride so it basically acts as an insulator. The team discovered that when the graphene layer's lattice is aligned with the layers of boron-nitride, a type of "superlattice" is created with desirable properties that enable efficient optoelectronics. These properties rely on quantum mechanics, and the researchers detected unique quantum regions within the superlattice known as Van Hove singularities.

Condom maker HLL Lifecare has secured a research grant of $150,000 USD (Rs.6.43 crore) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for its phase II graphene condom project. The grant follows an earlier research grant for the proof-of-concept project to produce graphene condoms, also funded by BMGF, and is intended for "pilot scale production and clinical trials of graphene incorporated natural rubber latex (GNRL) condoms". HLL hopes to start marketing graphene condoms globally by the end of the phase II.

The research team has reported the successful completion of the first phase of the study, which involved producing the prototype of graphene-natural rubber latex nanocomposites-based condoms that allow for high heat transfer and improved sensitivity. The team explains that this second stage investment will be used for scaling up production of the graphene-enhanced natural rubber latex condom. The fund will also be utilized for quality checking, stability and clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy and more.

A study coordinated by the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste (SISSA) and the University of Trieste examines how effective graphene oxide flakes are at interfering with excitatory synapses, which could prove useful in new treatments for diseases like epilepsy.

Researchers at the University of Manchester and the University of Castilla -la Mancha have also taken part in this work, that may have discovered a new approach to modulating synapses using graphene oxide. The method uses graphene nano-ribbons (flakes) which buffer activity of synapses simply by being present. The researchers administered aqueous solutions of graphene flakes to cultured neurons in 'chronic' exposure conditions, repeating the operation every day for a week. Analyzing functional neuronal electrical activity, they then traced the effect on synapses.

We are happy to announce a new Metalgrass knowledge hub, RRAM-Info.com, that focuses on RRAM, or Resistive RAM technology. RRAM is a promising next-generation storage-memory candidate, based on memristors - materials that change their resistance.

RRAM-Info will bring you daily news, commentary and updates about RRAM memory technologies. You can subscribe to our weekly RRAM newsletter here - and if you have not done so already, be sure to also subscribe to the free graphene newsletter!

Versarien has announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Bromley Technologies to collaborate on the development of graphene-enhanced carbon fibre products using Versarien’s graphene nano platelets. The initial focus is expected to be on products in the elite sports area, where the early adoption of new technology to gain a performance advantage is common.

Bromley Technologies is focussed on developing and marketing innovative products and technologies, namely in the action sports domain. Bromley Technologies has particular expertise in carbon fibre composite structures and it is intended that Versarien will collaborate in the design and testing of a wide variety of graphene-enhanced composite structures, using Versarien’s patented process.

Today we published a new version of our Graphene Batteries Market Report. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche Graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the graphene industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry.

The Graphene Batteries Market Report:

• The advantages using graphene batteries
• The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
• Various types of graphene materials
• What's on the market today
• Detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode material
• Personal contact details into most graphene developers

The report package provides a great introduction to the graphene batteries market - present and future. Read more here!

A collaborative team of researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD), Monash University and the United States Naval Research Laboratory has designed a Tunable Large Area Hybrid Metal-Graphene Terahertz Detector, an innovation based upon a successful demonstration of plasmonic resonance in graphene micro-ribbons that are connected to metal electrodes. This work may be a significant step toward practical graphene terahertz optoelectronic devices.

Graphene is interesting for terahertz range applications (the part of electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and infrared light) because the free electrons in the material oscillate collectively at these frequencies. The resonance frequency can be tuned by applying an electric voltage at the gate. Being able to tune the resonance frequency allows the resonator to be adjusted, making it usable in a broad range of applications, both scientific and commercial.

NanoIntegris, a subsidiary of Raymor Industries, recently announced the launch of PureWave Graphene, a substrate-free graphene grown in a plasma reactor, whose specifications are said to approach those of CVD single-layer graphene.

The unique plasma process used to grow PureWave Graphene nanoplatelets is reportedly easy to scale and produces a low cost product. The material contains low oxygen content (1%) and ppm metal impurity levels. The unique growth process based on plasma allows to produce this material at over 100 g/hour. This product is immediately available for research in gram or kg quantities, but lower prices for industrial applications will be unveiled by the end of the year.