Researchers from Rice University, University of Calgary, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and University of Washington have managed to turn a waste material called asphaltene (a byproduct of crude oil production) into graphene.

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Rice University's Muhammad Rahman, an assistant research professor of materials science and nanoengineering, is employing Rice’s unique flash Joule heating process to convert asphaltenes instantly into turbostratic (loosely aligned) graphene and mix it into composites for thermal, anti-corrosion and 3D-printing applications. The process makes good use of material otherwise burned for reuse as fuel or discarded into tailing ponds and landfills. Using at least some of the world’s reserve of more than 1 trillion barrels of asphaltene as a feedstock for graphene would be good for the environment as well.

Nanotech Energy recently reported a demonstration of its graphene-powered batteries' non-flammable qualities in a new abuse test. A Nanotech Graphene-Powered Lithium-Ion Battery 18650 cell was shot by a 4.5BRA bullet at a speed of 2,917 feet per second. Despite the considerable force of impact, the battery did not catch fire and even still held a charge.

In contrast, the company said that a rival commercial battery 18650 cell shot by a 4.5BRA bullet at a speed of 2,915 feet per second immediately burst into flames and no longer held a charge.

Today we published a new edition of our Graphene Supercapacitors Market Report, with all the latest information. The supercapacitor market and industry is facing high demand and graphene is a pivotal material for this application. This new updates includes a revamp of the general report, and updates from over 10 companies and research activities.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of using graphene in supercapacitors
• Various types of graphene materials
• Market insights and forecasts
• What's on the market today

The report package also provides:

• A list of all graphene companies involved with supercapacitors
• Prominent research activity in this field
• Free updates for a year

This Graphene Supercapacitors market report provides a great introduction to graphene materials used in the supercapacitor market, and covers everything you need to know about graphene in this niche. This is a great guide for anyone involved with the supercapacitor market, nanomaterials, electric vehicles and mobile devices.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) has announced that it has signed a contract for collaborative work with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for AMD’s proprietary thin-film graphene-based coatings technology - a Radio Frequency absorbing nanomaterial that can be applied to a variety of substrates. JPL is a research and development laboratory federally funded by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology.

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Image from AMD website, Courtesy of NASA/JPL-CalTech

The collaborative work is planned to be used for the NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft electromagnetic compatibility test campaign. AMD’s materials could help enable the Europa Clipper project to confirm that the spacecraft’s sensitive ice-penetrating radar will operate properly at key frequencies so as to meet science objectives.

Levidian's decarbonization technology will be deployed in the UK for the first time as part of a collaboration with solutions business Eco Group. Levidian stated that Eco Group’s deployment in the south of Scotland will be the first remote implementation of the LOOP technology in the UK. It is also a world-first deployment of a LOOP system with fully integrated hydrogen separation.

The LOOP device uses a patented low temperature, low pressure process to crack methane into its constituent atoms, hydrogen and carbon, without the need for catalysts or additives - decarbonizing methane-rich gas to deliver hydrogen and graphene on site.

Researchers from Northeastern University in Boston and University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have used a process called auger-mediated positron sticking (AMPS) to  develop a new technique that can measure the properties of the topmost atomic layer of materials.

This spectroscopic tool uses virtual photons to measure the topmost atomic layer’s electronic structure selectively. When incoming positrons change from vacuum states to bound surface states on the sample surface, they produce virtual photons with the energy to excite electrons into the vacuum.

NanoXplore reported its financial results for Q3 2022, with revenues of $27.1 million CAD (up 52% compared to last year). The company reported a loss (EBIDTA) of $1.97 million CAD (down from a loss of $3.7 million CAD last year).

Looking ahead into its FY2023 (which ends on September 2023) NanoXplore expects revenues to reach $110 million. The company also announced a 5-year strategic plan, during which the company will expand its production capacity from its current 4,000 tons to 20,000 tons for graphene and battery materials.