Graphene applications

A team of researchers at Penn State has reported the design and fabrication of a long-term stable and highly sensitive flexible electrochemical sensor based on nanocomposite-modified porous graphene by facile laser treatment for detecting biomarkers such as glucose in sweat. 

The laser-reduced and patterned stable conductive nanocomposite on the porous graphene electrode provides the resulting glucose sensor with an excellent sensitivity of 1317.69 µA mm⁻¹ cm⁻² and an ultra-low limit of detection of 0.079 µm. The sensor can also detect pH and exhibit extraordinary stability to maintain more than 91% sensitivity over 21 days in ambient conditions. Taken together with a temperature sensor based on the same material system, the dual glucose and pH sensor integrated with a flexible microfluidic sweat sampling network further results in accurate continuous on-body glucose detection calibrated by the simultaneously measured pH and temperature. 

U.K.-based Evove, which develops graphene-enhanced membrane and filtering solutions, has announced it has completed a pilot demonstrating the use of its filter technology at a large AB InBev brewery in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

It was explained that making beer is a process that requires a lot of water: Just sterilizing the equipment in a brewery can mean using thousands of gallons of water every week. That’s especially problematic in a place like drought-prone Johannesburg, where a water shortages and leaky infrastructure mean that water can be in short supply. Normally, the hot, caustic water used to clean tanks and water lines at a brewery can’t be reused, and ends up in the sewer system. It’s filled with grain residues, sugars, and yeasts that can’t easily be filtered out. “With conventional filters, it just clogs up the filters right away,” says Andrew Walker, Evove’s chief marketing officer.

Chinese electronics company Midea has unveiled an anti-corrosion solution to improve air conditioner performance and reliability in coastal and tropical climates. The solution, featuring proprietary tech called Hyper Grapfins and sheet metal coatings, is integrated into two Midea HVAC systems, BreezelessE and PenroseAir. This technology provides comprehensive protection against salty, humid air, enhancing the durability and lifespan of both indoor and outdoor units.

Air conditioning in coastal regions can be challenging due to the corrosive effects of salt air on the critical components, leading to costly maintenance and replacements for restaurateurs and hotel owners. To address the problem, Midea developed the patented Prime Guard Hyper Grapfin which is coated with graphene to increase the durability, performance, and energy efficiency of HVAC systems.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have fabricated meter-long composite fibers combining graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with flexible, conductive polymers that can achieve mechanical strength, toughness, and actuation that surpasses biological muscles.

The team wet-spin a mixture of GO nanosheets and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) into a composite fiber in which the flexible, conductive polymer is embedded in between aligned, closely-packed nanosheets. The addition of a depleting agent, polyethylene glycol (PEG), improves toughness and elasticity, while chemical reduction of GO to rGO increases electrical conductivity. Finally, the composite fibers are plied with nylon yarns to create a hierarchical composite actuator with capabilities better than typical biological muscles (75 J/kg work capacity and 924 W/kg power density).

NanoXplore has announced that it has been awarded three programs from two existing customers, one large commercial vehicle OEM and one industrial equipment manufacturer, to supply exterior parts of vehicles.  These components are used in both internal combustion engines and electric vehicles.

Production for the first program will begin in 2024 while the start of production for the other two programs is planned for 2026. These programs generally last for a period of 10 years. The Corporation estimates that these programs will generate CAD$24 million (over USD$17,700,000) in annual sales at mature volumes along with a one-time tooling revenue of CAD$10 million (over USD$7,400,000). The Corporation has reportedly already secured the related manufacturing equipment to fulfill these orders and the expansion of the North Carolina facility is ongoing. These investments are part of NanoXplore’s 5-year strategic plan.

The 2023 China International Graphene Innovation Conference (GRAPCHINA 2023), will be held in Shanghai, China from November 10 to 12, 2023. The conference will be jointly hosted by the National Graphene Innovation Center, Shanghai University and the Graphene Alliance (CGIA). Minyang Lu, the Deputy Secretary-General of the CGIA, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had regarding the upcoming conference.

Hello Minyang, thank you for your time. Can you tell us more about the GRAPCHINA event?

The International Graphene Innovation Conference has been successfully held for nine years. The number of participants has set a new record year each year, and its influence has continued to improve. The nine sessions attracted more than 4,000 enterprises, 23,000 participants and 1,200 experts in new materials field, which came from over 30 countries and regions around the world. At present, it has developed into a gathering place, a vanue and an international event for the world's cutting-edge graphene technology achievements and innovative products. The graphene application expo held simultaneously with the conference, will continuously inject new vitality into the development of the global graphene industry by gathering the global graphene industrialization achievements. 

The 2023 International Graphene Innovation Conference (GRAPCHINA 2023) will be organized by the China Innovation Alliance of the Graphene Industry (CGIA), National Graphene Innovation Center (NGIC) and Shanghai University in Shanghai on November 10-12 of the year 2023. This year, GRAPCHINA 2023 will focus on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, international cooperation, and industrial and supply chain, we will work with end users to create a number of commercialization forums. 

INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, a health-tech company dedicated to developing intelligent graphene-neural platform, has announced that its Intelligent Network Modulation System has been granted Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjunctive therapy for treating Parkinson’s disease.

The INBRAIN system uses graphene, whose electrical and mechanical properties make it ideal for neurotechnology innovation. INBRAIN’s neural platform technology enables ultra-high signal resolution and uses machine learning software that decodes therapy-specific biomarkers to deliver highly focused, adaptive neuroelectronic therapy that re-balances pathological neural networks.

A team of researchers from The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (ICFO) and Barcelona-based startup Qurv Technologies have designed flexible, nearly transparent graphene-enhanced image sensors that could be hidden in plain sight.

The sensors, based on graphene and quantum dots, could be integrated directly onto eyeglasses or curved windshields, placed right in front of a user’s eyes. This could make eye-tracking hardware less bulky, improve the accuracy of gaze detection, and reduce computational complexity, says Frank Koppens, who co-led the research and co-founded Qurv in 2020.

Rice University researchers have found a way to harvest hydrogen and graphene from plastic waste using a low-emissions method that could more than pay for itself.

“In this work, we converted waste plastics ⎯ including mixed waste plastics that don’t have to be sorted by type or washed ⎯ into high-yield hydrogen gas and high-value graphene,” said Kevin Wyss, a Rice doctoral alumnus and lead author of the recent study. “If the produced graphene is sold at only 5% of current market value ⎯ a 95% off sale! ⎯ clean hydrogen could be produced for free.”

Graphite One, a mining company planning a complete domestic U.S. supply chain for advanced graphite materials, has announced that it has received a US$4.7 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Logistics Agency ("DLA") to develop a graphite and graphene-based foam fire suppressant as an alternative to incumbent PFAS fire-suppressant materials, as required by U.S. law.

"Graphite One is pleased to begin work on this Defense Logistics Agency project, which responds to the legally-mandated requirement to develop a new alternative to long-standing foam fire suppressants which are known to have toxic impacts on human health and the environment," said Anthony Huston, President and CEO of Graphite One. "This DLA contract underscores the importance of graphite for innovative technology applications beyond the renewable energy markets – an important part of Graphite One's advanced graphite materials strategy."