Researchers at University of California, Irvine, working with a team from Japan's National Institute for Materials Science, have reported the discovery of nano-scale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states. This comes in contrast to conventional nano-scale electronic parts in devices like smartphones, that are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. This recent finding could fundamentally change the nature of electronic devices, as well as the way scientists research atomic-scale quantum materials. 

 Schematic of an hBN-encapsulated graphene device with a local graphite back gate and flexible serpentine leads connected to the movable QPC top gates (metal contacts to the graphene and graphite not shown). Image from Science Advances

“What we discovered is that for a particular set of materials, you can make nano-scale electronic devices that aren’t stuck together,” said Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi, an assistant professor of physics & astronomy whose lab performed the new research. “The parts can move, and so that allows us to modify the size and shape of a device after it’s been made.”

Goodfellow Cambridge, a UK-based supplier of specialist metals and materials to the scientific and industrial manufacturing sectors, has recently introduced several new products, including a composite material consisting of graphene.

The new product reportedly boasts remarkable mechanical properties, along with outstanding biocompatibility. The Company's exclusive range of products, Hastalex and BioHastalex, are only available to its existing customer base.

A team of researchers, led by Northwestern University and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), has developed a graphene-based cardiac implant. Similar in appearance to a temporary tattoo, the new graphene “tattoo” implant is thinner than a single strand of hair yet still functions like a classical pacemaker. But unlike current pacemakers and implanted defibrillators, which require hard, rigid materials that are mechanically incompatible with the body, the new device softly melds to the heart to simultaneously sense and treat irregular heartbeats. The implant is thin and flexible enough to conform to the heart’s delicate contours as well as stretchy and strong enough to withstand the dynamic motions of a beating heart.

After implanting the device into a rat model, the researchers demonstrated that the graphene tattoo could successfully sense irregular heart rhythms and then deliver electrical stimulation through a series of pulses without constraining or altering the heart’s natural motions. The technology also is optically transparent, allowing the researchers to use an external source of optical light to record and stimulate the heart through the device.

A Penn State-led international collaboration has developed a self-powered, standalone sensor system capable of monitoring gas molecules in the environment or in human breath. The system combines nanogenerators with micro-supercapacitors to harvest and story energy generated by human movement. 

The researchers' tech should cost up to just a few dollars for materials and uses widely available equipment. The development is the culmination of years of work led by corresponding author Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State.

Researchers from the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Stony Brook University and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US, along with Aalto University in Finland, have demonstrated a new electronic device that employs the unique ways in which electrons behave in graphene and high-temperature superconductors.

The experiment, led by Sharadh Jois and Ji Ung Lee from SUNY with the support of theoretical work done by Jose Lado, assistant professor at Aalto, demonstrated a new quantum device that combines both graphene and an unconventional high-temperature superconductor.

Haydale recently announced it will be partnering with CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, on a new project aimed at improving the durability of the lubricants currently used on some of the world’s largest particle physics equipment including the Large Hadron Collider.

Polymers in the oils and greases currently used are heavily susceptible to radiation damage leading to degradation of the lubricant. Using Haydale’s HDPlas® process, the aim is to increase the lifetime of the lubricants by adding functionalized nanomaterials, including graphene. The goal is to increase the material’s resistance and better dispersion characteristics should help to achieve this. As well as the potential for significant cost savings, increasing the service life of the lubricants in use is perhaps even more important given the highly limited access there is in these areas.

Researchers from the University of Manchester and University of Lancaster have exposed high-quality graphene to magnetic fields at room temperature and measured its response. 

"Over the last 10 years, electronic quality of graphene devices has improved dramatically, and everyone seems to focus on finding new phenomena at low, liquid-helium temperatures, ignoring what happens under ambient conditions," says materials scientist Alexey Berdyugin from the University of Manchester. "We decided to turn the heat up and unexpectedly a whole wealth of unexpected phenomena turned up."

HydroGraph Clean Power has announced the completion of a non-brokered private placement, with gross proceeds of approximately CAD$2.31 million (over USD$1,700,000).

“It is quite an exciting time where we close another oversubscribed successful funding round with strong support from our shareholders, management and new investors,” said Stuart Jara, CEO of HydroGraph. “Funding will allow us to accelerate the commercialization of our graphene including business development and customer acquisition activities. The Board and I are appreciative of the continued support of the Company, our strategy and our focus on creating shareholder value.”

A research team at Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University and Uppsala University in Sweden have managed to create a device made of a two-dimensional magnetic quantum material that can work in room temperature. Quantum materials with magnetic properties are believed to pave the way for ultra-fast and considerably more energy efficient computers and mobile devices, but until now, these types of materials tended to only work in extremely cold temperatures. 

The group of researchers has been able to demonstrate, for the very first time, a new two-dimensional magnetic material-based device at room temperature. They used an iron-based alloy (Fe₅GeTe₂) with graphene which can be used as a source and detector for spin polarized electrons. The breakthrough is believed to enable a range of technical applications in several industries as well as in our everyday lives.

A spin-out company from the graphene innovation ecosystem at The University of Manchester has formed an international partnership that will spearhead an unprecedented scale-up of graphene-based technologies intended “to make a substantial impact on global CO₂ emissions”.    

UK-based Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM), founded by University graduate Dr Vivek Koncherry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Quazar Investment Company to create a new company in the UAE. This UK-UAE partnership - which highlights potential opportunity for UK innovators to access global investment and international markets and supply chains - will be one of the most ambitious projects to date to commercialize graphene as it fast-tracks cutting-edge R&D into large-scale manufacture – an investment vision worth a total of $1billion.