Rice University scientists led by Prof. James Tour have turned adhesive tape into a silicon oxide film (mixed with laser-induced graphene) which replaces troublesome anodes in lithium metal batteries.

At left, a copper current collector with a laser-induced silicon oxide coating created at Rice University. At right, a scanning electron microscope image of the coating created by lasing adhesive tape on the copper collector. Courtesy of the Tour Group

The researchers used an infrared laser cutter to convert the silicone-based adhesive of commercial tape into the porous silicon oxide coating, mixed with a small amount of laser-induced graphene from the tape’s polyimide backing. The protective silicon oxide layer forms directly on the current collector of the battery.

An international team of researchers in Korea, the UK, Japan, the US and France recently shed light on the mysterious ability of graphene (and other carbon materials) to change its structure and even self-heal defects, by showing that fast-moving carbon atoms catalyze many of the restructuring processes.

Until now, researchers typically explained the structural evolution of graphene defects via a mechanism known as a Stone-Thrower-Wales type bond rotation. This mechanism involves a change in the connectivity of atoms within the lattice, but it has a relatively large activation energy, which makes it seem unlikely to succeed without some form of assistance.

A consortium of Spanish scientists and companies, in which the University of Granada (UGR) is participating, is working on the development of new efficient prophylactic facemasks to combat the Coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. These masks will be made of non-woven textiles specially modified with graphene and derivative materials.

Researchers at the Condensed Matter Physics Centre (IFIMAC) of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), which leads the project, are working on the development of new technologies to manufacture protective facemasks and, more generally, safer fabrics that help avoid contagion via infectious pathogens and, more specifically, viral particles.

Today we published new versions of all our graphene market reports. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about these niche markets. The reports are now updated to July 2020.

The Graphene Batteries Market Report:

• The advantages using graphene batteries
• The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
• Various types of graphene materials
• What's on the market today
• Detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode material
• Personal contact details into most graphene developers

The report package provides a good introduction to the graphene battery - present and future. It includes a list of all graphene companies involved with batteries and gives detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode materials and contact details into most graphene developers. Read more here!

ZEN Graphene Solutions has announced that Evercloak and ZEN have been awarded CAD$125,000 (around USD$92,000) each as part of a Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) Project.

The project entitled Advancing Large-Scale Graphene and Thin-Film Membrane Manufacturing will support the scale up of graphene oxide (GO) production by ZEN to supply GO to Evercloak for their scale up and optimizing activities. NGen supports collaborative technology projects that enable the development of world-leading advanced manufacturing capabilities in Canada.

Thomas Swan has signed an exclusive agency agreement with Concrene.

Thomas Swan’s Graphene Nano Platelet (GNP) products have been tested in a number of concrete dispersions by Concrene and have shown compressive strength improvements of greater than 20% with loading of less than 1% by weight.

Directa Plus has announced that its G+ graphene-enhanced facemasks, Co-mask, are now available for retail sale at a new, dedicated website.

Since the dangers of COVID-19 first started to become apparent, Directa Plus has been determined to help with the fight against the disease, and to use the unique properties of graphene and the strength of Directa Plus’s IP portfolio to enhance personal protective equipment. The company redirected effort and resources in its Advanced Development Area, R&D facility, to achieve this, Directa Plus said in a statement.

After recently closing the first tranche of its private placement, Zen Graphene Solutions has now announced the closing of the second tranche. The Company raised total gross proceeds of CAD$2,049,999.80 (around USD$1.5 million) under the Offering×¥

According to Zen, the funds will be used for ongoing work on the Albany Graphite Project including graphene research and scale up, COVID-19 initiatives and other graphene applications development and for general corporate purposes.

NanoXplore has announced the completion of the commissioning of its state-of-the-art 4,000 metric tons/year commercial graphene capacity facility in Montreal, Province of Quebec.

NanoXplore’s new graphene facility is a fully automated production plant that enables a connected, flexible and continuous manufacturing system. Production automation ensures the highest level of product quality, from receipt of raw materials, to final packaging of NanoXplore’s GrapheneBlack powders. The new facility uses lean production techniques to manage all operational processes and all process inputs are managed by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). The lack of manual processes within the production line facilitates batch-to-batch product consistency complimented with the highest level of quality assurance.

Researchers from Nagoya University Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NUSR), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Accelerator Laboratory, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), UVSOR Facility, Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences and Hiroshima Synchrotron Radiation Center at Hiroshima University have shown that photocathodes that produce electron beams for electron microscopes and advanced accelerators can be refreshed and rebuilt repeatedly without opening the devices that rely on them, provided the electron emitting materials are deposited on graphene.

The machines that rely on these electron emitters typically operate under high vacuum, said Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Hisato Yamaguchi. By choosing graphene over materials like silicon or molybdenum, which tend to degrade during use, we can clean the substrate and redeposit electron-emitting materials without opening the vacuum. This can dramatically reduce downtime and labor involved in replacing photocathodes.