Researchers at China's Guilin University of Electronic Technology, China Nonferrous Metals (Guilin) Geology and Mining Co., Ltd., Dalian University of Technology and Reliability Physics and Application Technology of Electronic Component Key Laboratory have developed a method to enhance the energy storage performance of lithium-ion batteries, involving the modification of natural graphite through irradiation with a high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB).

The method relies on HCPEB to prepare self-supporting graphene without pollution irradiation. The team reported that graphite was instantaneously transformed into defective graphene structures and that the resulting graphene electrodes exhibited excellent lithium storage and cycling properties.

2D-BioPAD is the name of a new Horizon Europe project that was recently launched. With a nearly €6 million budget, 2D-BioPAD will develop a diagnostic system for early Alzheimer's disease detection. This Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action funded by the European Union, officially commenced on October 2023 and will go on for 48 months.

2D-BioPAD is developing a fast, reliable, cost-effective and digitally enabled point-of-care in vitro diagnostic system for early Alzheimer's disease detection. The 2D-BioPAD system will make use of cutting-edge 2D materials (i.e., graphene), nanomaterials and aptamers, to enhance biocompatibility, sensitivity and specificity for the simultaneous detection of up to five Alzheimer’s biomarkers in blood. The device will be accompanied by a user-friendly mobile app that will give healthcare professionals real-time access to quantified results in primary healthcare settings. Along the way, artificial intelligence will be used to optimize the design and implementation of the 2D-BioPAD system.

Researchers at MIT, Harvard and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have reported a surprising property in graphene: When stacked in five layers, in a rhombohedral pattern, graphene displays a rare, “multiferroic” state, in which the material exhibits both unconventional magnetism and an exotic type of electronic behavior, which the team has named "ferro-valleytricity".

“Graphene is a fascinating material,” said Long Ju, assistant professor of physics at MIT. “Every layer you add gives you essentially a new material. And now this is the first time we see ferro-valleytricity, and unconventional magnetism, in five layers of graphene. But we don’t see this property in one, two, three, or four layers”. The discovery could promote ultra-low-power, high-capacity data storage devices for classical and quantum computers.

Harcros Chemicals, a U.S-based manufacturer of innovative and sustainable chemicals, has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Avadain stating mutual intent for Harcros to become the first company to commercially manufacture Avadain’s signature graphene flakes. Harcros has also made an investment in Avadain.

“There are many types of graphene materials,” says Brad Walden, Harcros’ VP for business development. “Harcros wants to be in the forefront of supplying the market for large, thin and nearly defect free graphene flakes which can be used to make thousands of products better.”

U.S-based ONE Condoms has launched graphene-enhanced condoms, after nearly a decade of research and development. 

ONE Condoms' website says that "ONE scientists molecularly bonded graphene, the thinnest and strongest material on earth, with Sensatex®, our proprietary, ultra-soft, vegan latex". The Company explained that when bonded together, graphene molecules fill the space between latex molecules, creating a new material that advances thinness, flexibility, and thermal conductivity. 

Researchers at Penn State University recently developed an electronic “tongue” and an electronic “gustatory cortex” based on graphene ans MoS₂. The artificial tastebuds comprise tiny, graphene-based electronic sensors called chemitransistors that can detect gas or chemical molecules. The other part of the circuit uses memtransistors, which is a transistor that remembers past signals, made with molybdenum disulfide. This allowed the researchers to design an “electronic gustatory cortex” that connect a physiology-drive “hunger neuron,” psychology-driven “appetite neuron” and a “feeding circuit.”   

For instance, when detecting salt, or sodium chloride, the device senses sodium ions, explained Subir Ghosh, a doctoral student in engineering science and mechanics and co-author of the study. “This means the device can ‘taste’ salt,” Ghosh said. 

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S, the University of Nevada, George Mason University and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have developed a “quantum ruler” to measure and explore the unique properties of twisted materials like 'magic angle' graphene. 

The work may also lead to a new, miniaturized standard for electrical resistance that could calibrate electronic devices directly on the factory floor, eliminating the need to send them to an off-site standards laboratory.

Mito Material Solutions' graphene technology has reportedly been used in fishing rods by St. Croix Fly, a U.S-based company that develops and manufactures fly fishing rods. The new graphene-enhanced line includes Evo and its saltwater-equivalent, Evo Salt, two new premium fly rod designs.

St. Croix’s rods are constructed from SCIII+. Exclusive to the company, SCIII+ is a hybrid carbon fiber material combining high modulus high-strain SCIII carbon fiber and super high modulus SCVI exotic carbon fiber. By itself, SCIII+ carbon fiber is said to produce lighter, more sensitive and better-balanced rods without sacrificing strength or durability. Unlike other fly rods built with pre-applied graphene integrated into carbon fiber prepreg, Evos and Evos Salt are powered by Mito’s functionalized graphene, which is applied in-house at St. Croix at total weight-loading accuracies within 0.01%, delivering radical hoop strength, optimized loop stability and complete accuracy. The process also fits within St. Croix’s vertical-control philosophy, affords extreme consistency and ultimately delivers anglers with more of the benefits graphene can provide — namely faster recovery, increased torsional rigidity and improved strength-to-weight ratios.

Skeleton Technologies recently closed a €108 million funding round that includes Siemens Financial Services (SFS), Marubeni Corporation and other investors. This funding will accelerate the development of next-generation products and finance the manufacturing expansion for supercapacitors and the company’s new high-power battery technology – the SuperBattery.

Skeleton Technologies’ CEO and Co-Founder, Taavi Madiberk, said: "Securing an investment from one of Europe's largest tech companies is a significant milestone for Skeleton. In addition to SFS’ investment, Siemens is also a key partner, supplier, and customer. Their expertise in industrialization and commercial partnerships will propel our growth and solidify our role in leading the energy transition”.

Researchers from China's Lanzhou University and Japan's Tokyo University of Science have harnessed the surface binding property and redox activity of platinum (Pt)-doped gold (Au) nanoclusters, Au₂₄Pt(PET)₁₈ (PET: phenylethanethiolate, SCH₂CH₂Ph), as a high-efficiency electrocatalyst in lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). 

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) can store three to five times more energy than traditional lithium-ion batteries and so they have emerged as a promising energy storage solution. LSBs use lithium as the anode and sulfur as the cathode, but this combination poses challenges. One significant issue is the “shuttle effect,” in which intermediate lithium polysulfide (LiPS) species formed during cycling migrate between the anode and cathode, resulting in capacity fading, low life cycle, and poor rate performance. Other problems include the expansion of the sulfur cathode during lithium-ion absorption and the formation of insulating lithium–sulfur species and lithium dendrites during battery operation.  While various strategies, such as cathode composites, electrolyte additives, and solid-state electrolytes, have been employed to address these challenges, they usually involve trade-offs and considerations that limit further development of LSBs.