Graphene-Info: the graphene experts

A research team at South China University of Technology, Peking University and other China-based universities have developed an accurate, rapid, and portable electrical detector based on the use of graphene field-effect transistors (G-FETs) for detection of RNA from COVID-19 patients.

The detection system consists of two main parts: a plug-and-play packaged biosensor chip and an electrical measurement machine. The unique feature of this method is that the extent of hybridization between the ss-DNA probe and viral RNA can be directly converted to the current change of graphene channels without repetition of the PCR process. Furthermore, this method was validated using clinical samples collected from many patients with COVID-19 infection and healthy individuals as well, and the testing results were in full agreement with those of PCR-based optical methods.

China Carbon Graphite Group, Chinese manufacturer of graphene and graphite-based products, has announced that together with the research and development team of its subsidiary, Royal Elite New Energy Science and Technology ("Roycarbon"), the company is developing a new silicon graphene nanocomposite product for next-gen lithium-ion batteries.

This upcoming product is expected to replace the current anode material and would provide improvements in electrochemical performance for the latest EV and mobile device batteries.

A team of Brown University researchers has found a way to orient the gaps that form between sheets of graphene that are stacked on top of each other. The tiny gaps, called nanochannels, are positioned by the team in a way that makes them more useful for filtering water and other liquids of nanoscale contaminants.

Structure and fabrication steps leading to vertically aligned Zr-GO/epoxy membranes. Image from article

“In the last decade, a whole field has sprung up to study these spaces that form between 2D nanomaterials,” said Robert Hurt, a professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and coauthor of the research. “You can grow things in there, you can store things in there, and there’s this emerging field of nanofluidics where you’re using those channels to filter out some molecules while letting others go through.”

India-based Nanomatrix Materials (NM Materials) produces graphene-oxide materials and derivatives (such as r-GO) at its 20Kg/month GO plant, and the company recently launched its own brand of graphene-enhanced face mask, the G1 Wonder mask.

A few weeks ago, NM Materials sent us a couple of masks for a review here at Graphene-Info, and this short review will summarize our findings.

Israel-based laser-induced graphene developer LIGC Application announced that its ViralWall air-purifier is now available for pre-order. The ViralWall costs $279, and will ship in April. Graphene-Info users can enjoy a 10% discount, just use this link to order and make sure to enter the discount code (graphene-info) when you checkout.

Using a graphene-based filter, the ViralWall "cleans the air from airborne bacteria and viruses and creates an invisible 1.2x1.6 meter air screen between people to prevent the spread of harmful airborne particles".

Researchers from the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick, together with members from the Imperial College London, has enhanced three hybrid flow cells with the use of nitrogen doped graphene - graphene sheets exposed to nitrogen plasma - using a binder-free electrophoresis (EPD) technique.

The EPD process schematic. Image from article

The new technique could potentially promote wider acceptance and renewable energy sources - such as hydro and solar power - currently limited by intermittency problems that prevent mass adoption of these sources into larger, national-scale power grids. One idea explored in working around this limitation is the use of long-duration battery technologies, like redox flow batteries. However, despite its longevity and performance, current costs have become significant tradeoff considerations and also hampers widespread adoption.

Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), along with collaborators from the University of Lille in France, have synthesized a new material, based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO), for energy storage devices and supercapacitors.

The rGO modification technique that involves the use of organic molecules, derivatives of hypervalent iodine, reportedly enabled acquiring a material that is capable of storing 1.7 times more electrical energy.