Researchers from the University of Strasbourg & CNRS (France), in collaboration with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland) and the University of Florence (Italy), have developed a new generation of pressure sensors based on graphene and molecular springs. The researchers say that thanks to their highest sensitivity, these devices are ideally suited for health monitoring and point-of-care testing.

The team reports that many electroactive materials have been employed for this purpose. Among these, graphene has been the most studied because of its excellent electrical conductivity, exceptional mechanical properties and large surface area. The researchers rely envision applications of graphene-based sensors in the form of tattoos.

researchers from Jiliang University and Zhejiang University of Technology in China, along with researchers at the Technical University of Denmark, have devised a new design for a graphene-based sensor that can simultaneously detect multiple substances - including dangerous bacteria and other pathogens. In addition to food safety, the new design could improve detection of gases and chemicals for a wide range of applications.

"Our design is based on graphene sheets, which are two-dimensional crystals of carbon just one atom thick," said research team member Bing-Gang Xiao, from China Jiliang University. "The sensor is not only highly sensitive but can also be easily adjusted to detect different substances."

Researchers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have found that graphene could better fulfill its potential when purified to remove silicon, doubling its electrical performance.

Despite researchers demonstrating countless possible applications of graphene, many people feel that graphene is thus far showing rather sluggish industrial adoption. Now, researchers based at RMIT have proposed a possible reason for this and suggested how graphene's full potential could be unlocked.

India-based Log 9 Materials is working on graphene-based metal-air batteries, that in theory may even lead to electric vehicles that run on water.

LOG 9 BATTERY COMPOSITION (LOG 9 MATERIALS)

The metal air batteries use a metal as anode, air (oxygen) as cathode and water as an electrolyte. A graphene rod is used in the air cathode of the batteries. Since Oxygen has to be used as the cathode, the cathode material has to be porous to let the air pass, a property in which graphene excels. According to Akshay Singhal, co-founder of Log 9 Materials, the graphene used in the electrode is able to increase the battery efficiency by five times at one-third the cost.

US-based graphene developer XG Sciences recently made headlines with a production expansion announcement - and an exciting deal with Ford to supply it with graphene-enhanced parts for the latest the Mustang and F-150 automobiles.

We have reached out to XGS' CEO, Philip Rose, who was kind enough to answer a few questions we had regarding the company's latest materials, plans and business.

Graphene Flagship partners Thales and M-SOLV have developed a large-scale spray coating tool, reportedly capable of meeting the high volume manufacturing requirements for high power graphene supercapacitors to be used in aerospace applications.

Thales has been working on incorporating graphene into supercapacitors since the start of the Graphene Flagship and has been able to significantly increase the storage potential of supercapacitor devices. "Using graphene, we have been able to increase the power of supercapacitors by five times. We deposited our supercapacitors using spray coating, enabling us to use a variety of substrates, thus allowing us to develop flexible, high power supercapacitors," said Dr. Paolo Bondavalli, Thales Research and Technology.

SiNode Systems, a U.S-based developer of silicon-graphene materials for lithium-ion batteries, and JNC Corporation, a Tokyo-based specialty chemical manufacturer, have formed NanoGraf Corporation—a joint venture focused on commercializing advanced materials for the Lithium-ion battery industry—with a $4.5-million investment. SiNode will be renamed NanoGraf.

NanoGraf’s technology aims to enhance the performance of battery materials using a proprietary graphene-wrapped silicon anode, originally invented at Northwestern University. The unique combination of silicon-based alloys and a flexible 3D graphene network reportedly helps stabilize the active material during charge and discharge. NanoGraf materials states that it enhances battery energy and power density by up to 50% and offers best-in-class cycle life.

Versarien, the advanced materials engineering group, has announced the formal launch of the Company's new graphene-enhanced polymer range, Polygrene.

Working in collaboration with industrial partners, Versarien has developed a variety of polymer compounds and masterbatches that feature different types of polymers, along with different weight loadings of Versarien's graphene, all under the Polygrene banner. These can be used in industrial extrusion, moulding and 3D printing processes.

Avanzare has started construction of its new 10,000 square meters graphene production plant in Navarrete Spain.

Avanzare is a supplier of high-performance nanomaterials, nanotechnology-based solutions provider and Graphene Flagship partner. In 2016, Avanzare introduced a graphene additive for industrial resins used for corrosion-resistant tanks and pipes for storage and transport of potentially explosive chemicals.

An international team of scientists, led by Professor Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter's Engineering department, has reported a new technique to create fully electronic fibers that can be incorporated into the production of everyday clothing. The researchers believe that the discovery could revolutionize the creation of wearable electronic devices for use in a range of every day applications, as well as health monitoring, such as heart rates and blood pressure, and medical diagnostics.

Currently, wearable electronics are achieved by essentially gluing devices to fabrics, which can often mean they are too rigid and susceptible to malfunctioning. The new research avoids this by integrating the electronic devices into the fabric of the material, by coating electronic fibers with light-weight, durable components that will allow images to be shown directly on the fabric.