The UK based Haydale and The School of Engineering at Cardiff University have announced the results of a new research that shows improvements in the mechanical performance of carbon fibre composites.

The research tested graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) and carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced technology. The results of this research show a 13% increase in compression strength and a 50% increase in compression after impact performance, indicating that fracture mode has been positively influenced. This is significant because damage resistance and compression properties are extremely important in high performance structures, such as composite aircraft wings.

Ionic Industries, formerly known as Grafitech, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Strategic Energy Resources. Ionic Industries is working together with Monash University to develop a way to sustainably manufacture graphene from natural graphite and graphene-based nanofiltration membranes.

The company has announced the purchase of a membrane casting facility for its graphene membrane technology, with an intention to develop scalable graphene membranes with multiple uses for mining and food processing.

The 2014 President's Science and Technology Awards (PSTA) have been given to eight top Singaporian scientists, as a high honor for their work.

Among these scientists was Professor Loh Kian Ping from NUS, who won the award for his breakthrough research in graphene chemistry focusing on the growth, processing and applications of diamond and graphene. He led his team to exciting discoveries in controlling the electronic properties of graphene by applying varying degrees of strain and even the use of graphene as a platform for growth of stem cells.

Researchers from Stockholm University managed to develop a super-insulating and fire retardant foam for house insulation by freezing together graphene oxide, cellulose nanofibers and clay nanorods.

The foam is highly porous and boasts lower thermal conductivity than traditional insulators like polystyrene and polyurethane. It is mechanically stiff, able to sustain great loads and also does not need to be laced with organic fire retardants (it is inherently fire retardant). The researchers believe this foam could even be fitted onto older buildings without tampering with their appearance.

Researchers from Rice University and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed a lightweight supercapacitor that can be combined with regular batteries to boost the power of an electric car.

This supercapacitor is made of graphene films as the electrodes and carbon nanotube films as current collectors, resulting in a device that demonstrates energy densities of 8-14 watt-hours per kilogram, and power densities of 250-450 kilowatts per kilogram. 

The U.S based Graphene Frontiers, developer of graphene materials and device technology, announced securing a U.S patent (No. 8,822,308) for the transfer of graphene films between surfaces using roll-to-roll processes.

The patented process is meant to be a cost-effective, etch-free transfer process, allowing manufacturers to avoid dissolving or consuming the substrate metal. It is reportedly also compatible with other materials, including nanomaterials.

The Oxford-based startup Zapgocharger Ltd has recently gone public with a crowdfunding initiative to raise money for the development and production of the Zap&Go portable charger for phones and tablets. The charger is meant to sport a graphene supercapacitor which will enable on-the-go charging of the device after plugging the charger into a specialized power supply for just 5 minutes (the charger will reportedly be able to take a 1,500mAh charge).

At the time this post was written, the company has already reached (more than doubled, actually!) their $30,000 goal. The Zap&Go charger’s launching price will reportedly be $150, but it is now offered at $99. Estimated delivery, as per the company, is October 2015.

Graphene Nanochem PLC, the performance chemicals and advanced materials company that is malaysian based and traded in the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, has recently entered into an agreement with the Singapore-based HWV which designs, develops and builds water treatment systems.

The two companies agreed to collaborate in order to design and commercialize the PlatClean V1 System, a graphene-enhanced water treatment system for the oil and gas industry. 

Researchers from Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have come up with a simple process for producing nanopores (about 2 nanometers in diameter) in a graphene membrane using the photothermal properties of gold nanorods.

The researchers aim to use this discovery to construct a direct DNA sequencing process, which will be simultaneously electrical and optical. This should facilitate a faster sequencing procedure, as traditional methods in which DNA components are sorted by an electrical current passing through nanopores on a silicon chip tend to get congested and slow, as information flowing through thousands of nanopores needs to be handled. Adding an optical component should, according to the researchers, help eliminate bottlenecks and speed up the sequencing process.

Indian researchers Nikhil Jana and Susanta Bhunia managed to use a graphene composite material to harness visible light and successfully degrade three different endocrine disruptor pollutants (phenol, BPA and atrazine). Endocrine disruptors are a class of pollutants that are commonplace in many household and industrial products, despite being known to mimic or block hormones in animals and humans, potentially causing various reproductive and health problems.

The researchers reached this achievement by using an existing graphene composite that uses visible light to degrade dyes, enhancing it by loading it with silver nanoparticles that act as an antenna for visible light.