Researchers led by Northwestern University engineers and Argonne National Laboratory scientists have reached new findings regarding the role of ionic interaction within graphene and water. Their insights could open the door to the design of new energy-efficient electrodes for batteries or provide the backbone ionic materials for neuromorphic computing applications.

"Every time you have interactions with ions in matter, the medium is very important. Water plays a vital role in mediating interactions between ions, molecules, and interfaces, which lead to a variety of natural and technological processes," said Monica Olvera de La Cruz, Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, who led the research. "Yet, there is much we don't understand about how water-mediated interactions are influenced by nanoconfinement at the nanoscale."

A team of Penn State researchers has designed an acoustic equivalent of magic-angle bilayer graphene. Two graphene sheets stacked on top of each other, called bilayer graphene, exhibit unique properties when one of the layers is twisted at a certain angle — a magic angle. The study of magic and other angle misalignments between two layers of material and their effects on material properties has been dubbed twistronics, a rapidly expanding field of condensed matter physics.

A visualization of the acoustic graphene array. Image by PSU

Examining analogues of condensed matter physics concepts can give us new ideas and applications in acoustics, said Yun Jing, associate professor of acoustics and biomedical engineering.

Scientists at Russia-based MIPT and Vladimir State University have reported a nearly 90% efficiency converting light energy into surface waves on graphene. They relied on a laser-like energy conversion scheme and collective resonances.

Manipulating light at the nanoscale is crucial for creating ultracompact devices for optical energy conversion and storage. To localize light on such a small scale, researchers convert optical radiation into so-called surface plasmon-polaritons. These SPPs are oscillations propagating along the interface between two materials with drastically different refractive indices — specifically, a metal and a dielectric or air. Depending on the materials chosen, the degree of surface wave localization varies. It is the strongest for light localized on a material only one atomic layer thick, because such 2D materials have high refractive indices.

Sparc Technologies recently announced the acquisition of Australian company Graphene Technology Solutions (GTS), as well as its plan to become a significant developer of graphene-based products that will disrupt and transform industrial markets. With its ASX new ticker code ‘SPN’, Sparc is expected to have an enterprise value of AUD$8 million (around USD$5.8 million).

The company intends to leverage its exclusive research collaborations to develop and commercialize graphene technologies with its sights set on three initial target markets marine and protective coatings, environmental remediation, and metals recovery from tailings.

NanoEMI, A Poland-based company working on graphene-based EMI shielding applications, recently announced that it was selected by Startup Spark accelerator at Lodz Special Economic Zone to work with Ericsson on validation of its technology in innovative telecommunication devices.

EMI shielding methods traditionally rely on metal, which adds weight and is expensive. A significant body of research demonstrates that carbon nanostructure-based nanocomposite materials can outperform conventional metal shielding due to their light weight, resistance to corrosion, flexibility, and processing advantages. On top of all these, graphene’s excellent conductivity makes it a perfect candidate for such applications. Graphene-based EMI shielding is an interesting area of focus, and recent advances include Nanotech Energy's announcement of the debut of its EMI Armor Paint & Sheets, graphene powered coatings and films for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding, as well as heat management.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) recently announced it has signed a LOI with Honeywell International to develop materials-based solutions for non-destructive testing of moulded materials that may have been subjected to high impact damage. This work is expected to lead to an ongoing funded programme of work in this field.

AMD CEO John Lee says, "This is a fantastic development for the company and illustrates the high level of engagement we are receiving in the US from both Government and Commercial partners, who are keen to work with us to develop new solutions for key challenges. We are delighted to have developed this collaborative relationship and look forward to working with key Honeywell personnel."

Researchers at The University of Manchester, led by Sir Andre Geim and Dr Alexey Berdyugin, have discovered and characterized a new family of quasiparticles named 'Brown-Zak fermions' in graphene-based superlattices. This was achieved by aligning the atomic lattice of a graphene layer to that of an insulating boron nitride sheet, dramatically changing the properties of the graphene sheet.

The study follows years of successive advances in graphene-boron nitride superlattices which has previously allowed the observation of a fractal pattern known as the Hofstadter's butterfly - and now, with this current work, the researchers report another highly surprising behavior of particles in such structures under applied magnetic field.

NanoXplore recently reported that it received a blanket purchase order from Martinrea International to supply graphene for fuel and brake lines for passenger vehicles produced by North American automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).

These graphene-enhanced products were tested and approved by OEMs and reportedly demonstrate significant lifetime improvements in comparison with existing solutions in the market. These parts will be supplied to OEMs by Martinrea within already-awarded multi-year fuel and brake line supply programs.

ZEN Graphene Solutions has announced that it has signed a three year lease with an option for another 3 years on 25,680 square feet of newly built B.1 industrial zoning space in Guelph, Ontario.

The new space will become ZEN’s manufacturing facility and corporate headquarters. Engineering work plus the purchase of the equipment required to produce ZEN’s graphene-based viricidal coating at commercial scale is reportedly ongoing. The company expects to begin initial production in Q4 2020 for incorporation into masks, other PPE and for HVAC filters and prefilters.

University of Tokyo researchers have designed a simple way to gain precise control over the fabrication of nanographene. In the process, they have also managed to shed light on the previously unclear chemical processes involved in nanographene production.

The team explains that it refers to units of graphene as nanographene; these are tailored to specific functions and as such their fabrication process is more complicated than that of generic graphene. Nanographene is made by selectively removing hydrogen atoms from organic molecules of carbon and hydrogen, a process called dehydrogenation.