March 2016

Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich that have studied how the structure of the substrate material influences the doping process in graphene, discovered unexpected effects and found that effective doping depends on the choice of substrate material.

Scientists have been testing silicon carbide (a crystalline compound of silicon and carbon) for use as a substrate material for graphene. When the material is heated to more than 1400 degrees Celsius in an argon atmosphere, graphene can be grown on the crystal. However, this epitaxial monolayer graphene displays -albeit slight — interaction with the substrate, which limits its electron mobility. In order to circumvent this problem, hydrogen is introduced into the interface between the two materials. This method is known as hydrogen intercalation. The bonds between the graphene and the substrate material are separated and saturated by the hydrogen atoms. This suppresses the electronic influence of the silicon crystal while the graphene stays mechanically joined with the substrate: quasi-free-standing monolayer graphene.

Versarien has announced that it has teamed up with E3D Online Ltd, a 3D printing specialist, to carry out initial trials using graphene. Versarien aims to ascertain whether 3D printed parts can benefit from the use of graphene provided by Versarien’s 2D-Tech subsidiary.

The company states that 3D printing is one of a number of graphene applications it is investigating and is an example of graphene moving from the lab to the real world.

The following is a sponsored post by IDTechEx

The graphene industry must transition from research to commercial sales if it is avoid falling into the valley of despair. The Graphene & 2D Materials Event in Berlin is designed to accelerate this transition. This is the event where companies unveil their latest technologies, launch their products, and where suppliers and end users from a variety of sectors directly connect.

Commercial applications restore faith:

The industry will risk temporarily losing its confidence if high-volume applications are not developed soon. This is why we feel that the entire industry will welcome any notable success from any rival supplier as it would the commercial viability of graphene and restore faith in the material.

Last month we launched our Graphene Investment Guide, and today we are happy to announce an updated guide (March 26) and a new personal edition. The Graphene Investment Guide is a comprehensive guide to the world of graphene investments. The graphene market and industry are still in early stages - but savvy investors are hurrying to find the companies that will profit the most from the oncoming revolution. Our investment guide helps establish a graphene investment paradigm and assist in launching a successful graphene portfolio.

The Graphene Investment Guide includes:

• An introduction to graphene
• An overview of graphene's most exciting applications
• An analysis of graphene's potential
• Market forecasts from leading analysts
• Detailed descriptions and financials of all public graphene companies
• Over 50 financial reports and company presentations (enterprise edition only)
• Graphene-Info's own investment thesis and action plan

Graphene 3D Lab has announced a third line of business, the Industrial Materials Division, to be devoted to development of high volume graphene-infused polymers for the automotive, robotics, drone, aerospace and military industries. This line will join the company's two main ones: graphene production and commercialization of 3D Printing technologies.

As a step in this direction, G3L has finalized installation and testing of a state of the art twin-screw extruder manufactured by Thermo Fisher. This specialized equipment allows the company to create advanced composite materials with exceptional accuracy in shorter working times. The extruder will help to incorporate graphene into materials well suited for industrial production of new or existing products that are lighter, stronger, and more flexible than their current commercial counterparts. The company will now be able to respond faster to the increased demand from manufacturers.

Researchers from Empa, the Max Planck Institute in Mainz and the Technical University of Dresden have succeeded, for the first time, in producing graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with perfect zigzag edges from molecules. Electrons on these zigzag edges exhibit different (and coupled) rotational directions (referred to as "spin"). This could make GNRs highly attractive for next-gen electronics, namely spintronics.

In their work, the research team describes how it managed to synthesize GNRs with perfectly zigzagged edges using suitable carbon precursor molecules and a perfected manufacturing process. The zigzags followed a very specific geometry along the longitudinal axis of the ribbons. This is an important step, because researchers can thus give graphene ribbons different properties via the geometry of the ribbons and especially via the structure of their edges.

A research team at Los Alamos, along with collaborators from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, and Rutgers University, has developed a new water-removal technique that improves the performance of carbon nanomaterials used in fuel cells and batteries. The study may present new avenues for designing advanced carbon nanomaterials for batteries and fuel cells.

The study gives an in-depth understanding of the role water plays in graphene oxide nanosheets or functionalized graphene sheets. Dry films of graphene oxide include a significant volume of added water that builds up between the oxygen-functionalized nanosheets and is also usually produced in aqueous solutions. The researchers showed how a simple solvent drying method can remove the accumulated water between the graphitic sheets. When water is removed, the physical structure of these graphene oxide nanosheets changes considerably, and the distance between the nanosheets is also reduced. In addition to this, the researchers also noted that the concentration of functional groups changed significantly, resulting in highly ordered structures. These changes ultimately led to improved electrocatalytic activity, which substantially improves the performance in batteries and fuel cells.

BGT Materials, the UK-based graphene technology company, has announced that it has received the first commercial order for its subsidiary, Graphene Security. GS, developer of flexible and green wireless antenna solutions, has chosen its first application to be in the RFID industry where graphene is used as the antenna inlays. This technology was recently demonstrated in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

BGT Materials has also a second subsidiary, Graphene Lighting, that designs and manufactures next-generation LED lighting, using graphene as a thermal dissipation solution. It has developed the Graphene Light Bulbs, and a full product rollout is underway which includes a full range of home, commercial and street lighting.

Grafoid has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Xiamen Tungsten of Xiamen, China, for the establishment of a strategic joint venture partnership. The agreement establishes terms for Xiamen's acquisition of up to a 20% equity position in Grafoid through the purchase of common shares - including Grafoid common shares currently held by Grafoid's affiliate, Focus Graphite, an advanced Canadian graphite mining exploration and development company.

Focus Graphite currently holds 7.9 million Grafoid shares, and according to the MOU Xiamen can purchase up to 7 million shares from Grafoid. Seems like Focus Graphite does not want to remain a major shareholder in Grafoid - although the two companies are still linked by a 10-year offtake agreement.

Applied Graphene Materials reported their financial results for H1 2016 (which ends on 31 January 2016). Revenues were £18,000 (up from £13,000 in the first half of 2015) and net loss (EBITDA) was £2.1 million. AGM has £10.2 million in cash or equivalents (AGM recently raised £8.5 million in a shares sale).

AGM's revenues were all from the supply of evaluation graphene materials to commercial partners. The company says they shipped over 70 evaluation samples to customers - and is working closely with over 20 companies via collaborations and joint-development agreements.