First Graphene has provided an update on its development of the FireStop graphene-enhanced fire retardant coating in the form of a video. Development of the FireStop material is being conducted in conjunction with the University of Adelaide as part of the Company’s participation as a Tier 1 participant in the ARC Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation.

The video shows the dramatic effectiveness of FireStop when applied to simple wooden structures. Whereas the untreated structure on the left is totally consumed by fire, the structure treated with the FireStop retardant doesn’t seem to catch fire even after five minutes of trying. Given that fires generally start at specific ignition points, the ability of a graphene-based retardant to stop the ignition is a key feature of the product.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas, led by professor Paul Thibado, have found strong evidence that the internal motion of 2D materials could be used as a source of clean, limitless energy. The team has reportedly taken the first steps toward creating a device that can turn this energy into electricity, with the potential for many applications. A patent has recently been applied on this invention, called a Vibration Energy Harvester, or VEH.

The team studied the internal movements of carbon atoms in graphene and observed two distinct features: small Brownian motion and larger, coordinated movements. In these larger movements, the entire ripple buckled, flipping up and down like a thin piece of metal being repeatedly flexed. This pattern of small random motion combined with larger sudden movements is known as Lévy flights. This phenomenon can be observed in a variety of contexts, such as biomedical signals, climate dynamics, and more. Thibado is claimed to be the first to have observed these flights spontaneously occurring in an inorganic atomic-scale system.

The China-based Shanghai Kyorene New Material Technology recently unveiled a graphene-based flame-retardant fabric during the Textile & Yarn Expo in Shanghai.

The fabric seems to be extremely resistant to flames, and no damage appears even when it is directly touched with a burning lighter. It is also said to posses anti ultra-violet and anti-static properties. It can be used for firefighting purposes as well as furniture and other domestic uses.

Researchers from the ICFO have developed the first graphene-QDs-CMOS integrated camera, capable of imaging visible and infrared light at the same time. The camera may be useful for many applications like night vision, food inspection, fire control, vision under extreme weather conditions, and more.

The imaging system is said to be based on the first monolithic integration of graphene and quantum dot photodetectors, with a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductors) read-out integrated circuit. The implementation of such a platform in applications other than microcircuits and visible light cameras has been impeded by the difficulty to combine semiconductors other than silicon with CMOS, an obstacle that has been overcome in this work.

Researchers from the Korea-based ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) have used graphene transparent electrodes to create an OLED display, 370mm x 470mm in size.

The ETRI team designed a process that can pattern a graphene-made transparent electrode in accurate size on a glass substrate. The researchers replaced indium tin oxide used for current commercial applications, that is a rare metal known for being brittle.

A team of researchers at Kansas State University has discovered a way to mass-produce graphene with three ingredients: hydrocarbon gas, oxygen and a spark plug. The technique involves filling a chamber with acetylene or ethylene gas and oxygen and using a vehicle spark plug to create a contained detonation - all that's left then, according to the team, is collecting the graphene that forms afterward.

The researchers state that this is a viable process to make graphene; they explain that the process has many positive properties, like economic feasibility, the possibility for large-scale production and the lack of hazardous chemicals. What might be the best property of all is that the energy required to make a gram of graphene through this process is much lower than other processes.

CealTech recently announced its new laboratories and facilities, and the Norway-based pure PE-CVD graphene producer will begin graphene production in March 2017. CealTech now announced that it will offer pre-booking and sales in late January on its web site.

The company also released the promotion video you see below.

San Diego-based Nanomedical Diagnostics, established in late 2013 to develop cutting-edge diagnostics equipment, recently started shipping its graphene-based sensors and the AGILE R100 system which allows for real-time detection of small molecules - with no lower size limit. Nanomedical's graphene-based sensors enable faster sample processing, greater accuracy, portability and cost savings.

The company's CEO, Ross Bundy, was kind enough to explain the company's technology and business to us.

Huawei unveiled a new Li-Ion battery that can remain functional at higher temperature (60° degrees as opposed to the existing 50° limit) and offers a longer operation time - double than what can be achieved with previous batteries.

To achieve this breakthrough, Huawei incorporated several new technologies - including an anti-decomposition additives in the electrolyte, chemically stabilized single crystal cathodes - and graphene to facilitate heat dissipation. Huawei says that the graphene reduces the battery's operating temperature by 5 degrees.

A few weeks ago we visited the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington, UK. We were given a tour of the facilities, the graphene labs and met with several key researchers and the business development team. The NPL is the UK's national measurement institute, and is a world-leading measurement standards institute - and certainly one of the leading institutes in the field of graphene metrology.

The NPL's facilities are very impressive, it's a beautiful campus set in the lovely town of Teddington - about half an hour by train from central London. The research facilities and laboratories were very well equipped and we pleasantly surprised to find out how nice and hospitable the researchers were. It was great to see so many graphene related activities at the NPL.