Researchers at Penn State, Northeastern University and five universities in China have developed and tested a stretchable, wearable gas sensor for environmental sensing.

The sensor combines a newly developed laser-induced graphene foam material with a unique form of molybdenum disulfide and reduced-graphene oxide nanocomposites. The researchers were interested in seeing how different morphologies of the gas-sensitive nanocomposites affect the sensitivity of the material to detecting nitrogen dioxide molecules at very low concentration. To change the morphology, they packed a container with very finely ground salt crystals.

Physicists at the University of Basel have created a novel structure with the ability to absorb almost all light of a selected wavelength, by layering different 2D materials: graphene and molybdenum disulfide.

Schematic illustration of the electron-hole pairs (electron: pink, hole: blue), which are formed by absorption of light in the two-layer molybdenum disulfide layer. Credit: Nadine Leisgang and Lorenzo Ceccarelli, Department of Physics, University of Basel

The new structure's particular properties reportedly make it a candidate for applications in optical components or as a source of individual photons, which play a key role in quantum research.

Researchers at TU Wien have designed a nano-structuring method, with which certain layers of a material can be perforated with extreme precision while others are left completely untouched, even though the projectile penetrates all layers.

The projectile penetrates all layers, but only in the top layer, a big hole is created. The graphene below remains intact. Credit: TU Wien

This is made possible with the help of highly charged ions - they can be used to selectively process the surfaces of novel 2D material systems, for example to anchor certain metals on them, which can then serve as catalysts.

UK-based planarTECH has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, as part of Graphene-Info's Graphene Crowdfunding Arena. planarTECH aims to expand its current business and also initiate new graphene endeavors. Investors are now able to participate in this financing round.

Here's our interview with planarTECH's co-founder and CEO, J. Patrick Frantz - who explains the company's technology, business and future plans.

UK-based planarTECH is launching an equity crowdfunding campaign at on Seedrs, as part of Graphene-Info's Graphene Crowdfunding Arena. planarTECH aims to expand its current business and also initiate new graphene endeavors.

planarTECH, founded in 2014, supplies CVD equipment for the production of high quality graphene sheets, as well as other 2D materials. The company was focused on research institutes, and already sold over 65 systems with a customer list that includes Manchester University, the University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the National University of Singapore.

Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have developed hybrids of graphene and molybdenum disulphide quantum dots to stabilize perovskite solar cells (PSCs). PSCs are a novel type of solar cells which are efficient, relatively easy to produce, made with cheaper materials and, due to their flexibility, can be used in locations where traditional silicon solar cells cannot be placed.

A collaboration between the Graphene Flagship Partners Istituto Italiano di Technologia, University of Rome Tor Vergata, and BeDimensional resulted in a novel approach based on graphene and related materials to stabilize PSCs, thus addressing the stability issue of PSCs, a major hurdle hindering their commercialization.

Graphene Flagship researchers produced graphene-based spintronics devices that utilize both electron charge and spin at room temperature. Demonstrating the spin’s feasibility for bridging distances of up to several micrometres, these results may open the door to new possibilities for integrating information-processing and storage in a single chip.

The Graphene Flagship program recognizes the potential of spintronics devices made from graphene-related materials. Researchers from different universities successfully showed that it is possible to manipulate graphene’s spin properties in a controlled manner at room temperature. These results inspire new directions in the development of spin-logic devices and quantum computing. With miniaturization a major driving force behind the electronics industry, graphene opens new possibilities for compacting spin-logic operations with magnetic memory elements in a single platform, notes Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Research Professor Stephan Roche, who has been leading the Graphene Flagships Spintronics Work Package since its inception.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Seoul National University have successfully developed and tested an ultrathin artificial retina, based on graphene and molybdenum disulfide, that could reportedly improve on existing implantable visualization technology for the blind. The flexible device could someday restore sight to the millions of people with retinal diseases. And with a few modifications, the device could be used to track heart and brain activity.

"This is the first demonstration that you can use few-layer graphene and molybdenum disulfide to successfully fabricate an artificial retina," Nanshu Lu, Ph.D., says. "Although this research is still in its infancy, it is a very exciting starting point for the use of these materials to restore vision," she says, adding that this device could also be implanted elsewhere in the body to monitor heart and brain activities.

Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University, along with additional international colleagues, have discovered a method to modify and use graphene without destroying it. Thanks to the method, the researchers were able to synthesize a well-structured polymer with a strong covalent bond on single-layer graphene.

The researchers call the result "polymer carpets". The structure is highly stable and less prone to degradation over time, holding promise for the development of flexible organic electronics. If a layer of molybdenum disulfide is added over this "nanocarpet," the resulting structure generates current under exposure to light.

Mr. Xu Jiang, president and general manager of China’s XFNano, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had for him regarding XFNano’s graphene materials, technology and business. Mr. Jiang founded XFNano in 2009, and he holds a master’s degree from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

Q: Hello Mr. Jiang, thank you for your time. Can you update us on your graphene production process and facilities?

In 2016, XFNANO put its new production line into operation, which yields an annual production capacity of 50 tons of high-quality graphene powder and 1,000 tons of graphene dispersion. We believe this can meet our customers’ demands for large quantities.