Graphene-Info: the graphene experts

National University of Singapore (NUS) scientists have developed a sensitive gaphene-enhanced 2D magnetic field sensor, which can potentially improve the detection of nanoscale magnetic domains for data storage applications.

Magnetoresistance (MR), the change in the electrical resistance of a material due to the influence of an external magnetic field, has been widely used in magnetic sensors, magnetic memories and hard disk drives. However, in traditional 3D material-based magnetic sensors that use giant MR (GMR) or tunneling MR (TMR) spin-valves, the detectable signal of the magnetic field decays exponentially with the thickness of its sensing layer. This limits the spatial resolution and sensitivity of the sensors. Therefore, a 2D-based sensor can potentially improve the detection of minuscule magnetic fields, as the decay is limited to only one atomic layer thickness.

University of California researchers, along with teams from other U.S-based institutions like Columbia University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Washington, have created a metallic wire made entirely of carbon, setting the stage for a ramp-up in research to build carbon-based transistors and, ultimately, computers.

"Staying within the same material, within the realm of carbon-based materials, is what brings this technology together now," said Felix Fischer, UC Berkeley professor of chemistry, noting that the ability to make all circuit elements from the same material makes fabrication easier. "That has been one of the key things that has been missing in the big picture of an all-carbon-based integrated circuit architecture."

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and University of California Berkeley researchers have found that graphene-based sensors can perform in harsh environments that are inhospitable to other existing technologies.

The structure of graphene sensors for pH (top left), salinity (lower left) and temperature (right). Credit: 2020 Shaikh & Hussain, from Phys.org

"Graphene has been projected as a miracle material for years now, but its application in harsh environmental conditions was unexplored," says Sohail Shaikh, who has developed the new sensors, together with KAUST's Muhammad Hussain. "Existing sensor technologies operate in a very limited range of environmental conditions, failing or becoming unreliable if there is much deviation," Shaikh adds.

Applied Graphene Materials recently announced its plans to launch a new graphene-enhanced car polishing product in partnership with Infinity Wax, a specialist car care distributor.

Infinity Wax will start to market the new QDX Graphene Detailing Spray in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Applied Graphene Materials.

ZEN Graphene Solutions has reported that it has developed a novel graphene-based virucidal ink with 99% effectiveness against COVID-19. ZEN’s Virucidal ink was reportedly also 99% effective a minimum of 35 days after application to N95 mask material.

ZEN is now developing plans to expedite commercialization of this product, pending regulatory approval, and has filed a provisional patent for this graphene-based virucidal product.

Researchers from the University of Strasbourg & CNRS (France), in collaboration with Humboldt University of Berlin and DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials/RWTH Aachen University in Germany, have shown that graphene devices can be used to monitor in real time the dynamics of molecular self-assembly at the solid/liquid interface.

Molecular self-assembly on surfaces is an attractive strategy to provide substrates with specific properties. Understanding the dynamics of the self-assembly process is vital in order to master surface functionalization. However, real-time monitoring of molecular self-assembly on a given substrate has proven complicated by the challenge to disentangle interfacial and bulk phenomena.

In June 2020, Paragraf entered into a working partnership with the Magnetic Measurement section at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, to demonstrate how new opportunities for magnetic measurements are opened up through the unique properties of its graphene sensor, particularly its negligible planar Hall effect. Now, Paragraf has demonstrated the ability of its graphene Hall Effect sensors to withstand high levels of radiation.

This conclusion, based on testing from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), proves that ‘unpackaged’ Hall Effect sensors can be used in high-radiation environments such as space. The project was funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.