Graphene-Info: the graphene experts

A KAIST research team in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison theoretically developed a graphene-based active metasurface capable of independent amplitude and phase control of mid-infrared light. This research gives a new insight into modulating the mid-infrared wavefront with high resolution by solving the problem of the independent control of light amplitude and phase, which has remained a long-standing challenge.

Light modulation technology is essential for developing future optical devices such as holography, high-resolution imaging, and optical communication systems. Liquid crystals and a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) have previously been utilized to modulate light. However, both methods suffer from significantly limited driving speeds and unit pixel sizes larger than the diffraction limit, which consequently prevent their integration into photonic systems.

Micro Powders, in collaboration with Garmor, recently launched GraphShield 730, a next-generation graphene-based anticorrosion additive for powder coating applications.

GraphShield 730 uses Micro Powders’ wax composite technology to deliver a high loading of Garmor’s unique edge functionalized graphene product, enabling the delivery of an advanced nanomaterial into coating formulations safely and effectively without any changes needed in the customer’s production process. Graphene imbues the final coating with significantly enhanced corrosion resistance on both bare and treated cold rolled steel, with up to 50% reduction in corrosive creep.

Scientists from University College London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a graphene-based design for supercapacitors, which reportedly increased their density by 10 times.

Supercapacitors charge quickly but also discharge at a high speed. Existing supercapacitors tend to have a low energy density – about 1/20 of the battery capacity. Batteries combined with supercapacitors are already in limited use – for example, in Chinese public transport. But the bus in which such a battery is installed is forced to charge at almost every stop.

Cambridge Raman Imaging Limited (CRIL), a Frontier IP Group portfolio firm, has been awarded €140,000 (£116,380) in EU funding to accelerate development of its graphene-enabled scanning microscope.

CRIL, which was spun out from the University of Cambridge and Italian university Politecnico di Milano in 2018, is developing a microscope which uses graphene to modulate ultra-short pulses of light to diagnose and track cancer tumors.

Scientists from Chung-Ang University, Korea, led by Prof Hyungbin SonKorea, have observed a unique way in which graphene forms a hybrid layer that prevents copper corrosion.

A challenge with using copper is that its surface oxidizes over time, even under ambient conditions, ultimately leading to its corrosion. Thus, finding a long-term method to protect the exposed surfaces of copper is a valuable goal. One common way of protecting metal surfaces is by coating them with anti-corrosive substances. Graphene is studied extensively as a candidate for anti-corrosive coating, as it serves as a barrier to gas molecules. But, despite these properties, graphene sheets have been said to protect copper from corrosion only over short periods (less than 24 hours). In fact, surprisingly, after this initial period, graphene appears to possibly increase the rate of copper corrosion, which is completely in contrast to its anti-corrosive nature.

G6 Materials Corp. (formerly known as "Graphene 3D Lab) has announced the start of a new green-energy focused collaboration with Gilman Industries, a company focused on commercializing its hydrogen-producing technology. The objective of the project is to develop a new generation of Evolve, a proprietary hydrogen generator that produces hydrogen by splitting water with an electric current.

During the course of this project, G6 will develop a robust graphene-based material for electrodes within the hydrogen generator. Introducing a resilient graphene-based material has the potential to deliver chemical stability that could allow the generator to operate with seawater, which if successful, would drastically expand the range of potential applications.

Scientists at Rice University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT Knoxville) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have demonstrated the use of a very small visible beam to burn graphene into microscopic patterns.

Scientists recorded the formation of laser-induced graphene made with a small laser mounted to a scanning electron microscope. Image credit: the Tour Group

The labs of Rice chemist James Tour, which discovered the original method to turn a common polymer into graphene in 2014, and Tennessee/ORNL materials scientist Philip Rack revealed they can now watch the conductive material form as it makes small traces of LIG in a scanning electron microscope (SEM).