Membranes

Evercloak raises USD$1.5M in seed funding to cut energy demands in air conditioners

Canada-based Evercloak, that aims to turn the theoretical potential of membrane-based dehumidification into a viable commercial option with its method of manufacturing graphene composite membranes at scale, has announced that it has raised CAD$2 Million (around USD$1,475,000) in an oversubscribed seed round of investment, driven by interest in its HVAC technology. 

By reducing the amount of electricity required to dehumidify air — the most energy-intensive part of cooling — Evercloak’s membrane-based solution can cut the energy demands of air conditioning in half.

Read the full story Posted: Feb 14,2024

Researchers design artificial neuron based on graphene and water

Researchers from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and China's Southeast University have reported a graphene-based aqueous memristive device with long-term and tunable memory, regulated by reversible voltage-induced interfacial acid-base equilibria enabled by selective proton permeation through the graphene. 

Memristive devices, electrical elements whose resistance depends on the history of applied electrical signals, are leading candidates for future data storage and neuromorphic computing. Memristive devices typically rely on solid-state technology, while aqueous memristive devices are crucial for biology-related applications such as next-generation brain-machine interfaces. Recently, nanofluidic devices have been reported in which solvated ion transport exhibits memristive behavior. The challenge associated with these approaches is the complexity of the device fabrication. Realizing memristive behavior in a simple system is highly desirable.

Read the full story Posted: Feb 07,2024

Ora Graphene and Merry Electronics to soon ship off-the-shelf premium graphene-based headphone drivers

Ora Graphene, producer of free-standing graphene membranes, announced a partnership with Taiwan-based Merry Electronics to develop off-the-shelf GrapheneQ headphone drivers. These, according to Ora, will be the world's first commercially available graphene-based drivers. The two companies will offer 40 mm and 50 mm drivers, which will be available for pre-order in Q1 2024.

Ora Graphene says that it already integrated its technology into flagship products for two major consumer electronics companies - both of these premium gaming headphones. The availability of off-the-shelf headphone drivers will hopefully accelerate the adoption of Ora's technology.

Read the full story Posted: Dec 07,2023

New gaming headset by Logitech to use graphene audio driver

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, has unveiled the Logitech G ASTRO A50 X LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset and Base Station, the fifth generation of the ASTRO A50 Series console gaming headset. 

The new ASTRO A5O X is designed to deliver the ultimate console headset experience and will include (among other technological innovations), the PRO-G Graphene Audio Driver technology for high performance gaming audio.

Read the full story Posted: Dec 06,2023

New GIANCE project focuses on graphene-based solutions for environmental challenges

The GIANCE research project officially commenced on October 1st, marking a step toward addressing environmental challenges with innovative solutions.

GIANCE is an ambitious initiative that seeks to establish a holistic, integrated and industry-driven platform with a clear focus on improving sustainable materials and their real-world applications. This project is dedicated to designing, developing and scaling up the next generation of cost-effective, sustainable, lightweight and recyclable graphene and related materials (GRM)-based multifunctional composites, coatings, foams and membranes (GRM-bM).

Read the full story Posted: Nov 27,2023

Researchers develop bioinspired reinforced graphene membranes that overcome mechanical limitations

Researchers from Peking University, Beijing Normal University and KU Leuven recently reported a novel method to substantially reinforce large-area graphene membranes. Their work provides a facile method to fabricate large-area graphene membranes and paves the road to practical application in the membrane separation field. 

Nanoporous graphene membranes are attractive for molecular separations, but it remains challenging to maintain sufficient mechanical strength during scalable fabrication and module development. In this work, the team drew inspiration from the composite structure of cell membranes and cell walls, and designed a large-area atomically thin nanoporous graphene membrane supported by a fiber-reinforced structure with strong interlamellar adhesion. It was found that factors like fracture stress, fracture strength, and tensile stiffness of the composite membranes can be enhanced compared with other graphene-based membranes of large scale.

Read the full story Posted: Nov 17,2023

Researchers develop graphene oxide-doped silica aerogels for efficient removal of pollutants from wastewater

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and Tel Aviv University in Israel, have developed a graphene oxide-doped silica aerogel adsorbent that can remove trace pollutants from wastewater.

This graphene-modified silica aerogel reportedly removes over 76% of trace pollutants (PPM level) in continuous flow conditions, offering a sustainable path for large-scale water purification. The research team is dedicated to enhancing these results for large-scale applications.

Read the full story Posted: Oct 30,2023

Evove completes pilot demonstration of graphene-enhanced filtration membranes at AB InBev brewery in South Africa

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.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 30,2023

Researchers examine the reason for graphene's permeability to protons

Researchers from The University of Warwick, the University of Manchester, Brazil's Universidade Federal do Ceara and Turkey's Izmir Institute of Technology have tackled the long-standing conundrum of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory. 

A decade ago, scientists at The University of Manchester demonstrated that graphene is permeable to protons, nuclei of hydrogen atoms. The unexpected result sparked a debate because theory predicted that it would be extremely hard for a proton to permeate through graphene's dense crystalline structure. This had led to suggestions that protons permeate not through the crystal lattice itself, but through the pinholes in its structure.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 24,2023

Researchers develop new method for precise atomic-scale manufacturing using electron beams

Researchers at  Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Arizona State University have developed a technique that combines two approaches to nanofabrication - top-down and bottom-up methods - to enable atomic-scale precision manufacturing using a focused electron beam.

Top-down methods, such as lithography, employ external influences to modify materials. While they offer precision patterning, their resolution is often constrained by factors like beam size and scattering effects. On the other hand, bottom-up methods capitalize on the spontaneous self-assembly of atoms and molecules through chemical reactions, granting atomic-level control. However, the positioning in this method tends to be random rather than directed.
The novel technique demonstrated on twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) harmoniously integrates these two approaches.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 14,2023