The Graphene-Info newsletter (August 17, 2021)

A team of researchers from CNRS and the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France developed a prototype of an artificial neuron. Their system uses ions to carry information, and relies on a thin layer of water transporting ions within long graphene incisions.

The human brain manages to consume relatively small amounts of energy, even while performing complex tasks. This high efficiency comes from neurons, which have a membrane with tiny pores called ion channels. These channels can open and close according to the stimuli received from neighboring neurons. The result is an electric current going from neuron to neuron, allowing these cells to communicate with each other.

Curtin University researchers have recently shown that applying a thin (and of course, invisible) layer of graphene oxide to silicon forms an impermeable barrier, which could be used to protect artwork, prevent corrosion of metals, and produce higher efficiency solar cells.

Lead author, Dr. Nadim Darwish from Curtin’s School of Molecular Life Sciences, said while protective layers on silicon were already used as an efficiency enhancer in devices such as solar cells and microchips, the procedure for forming these protective coatings was complicated and required highly specialized fabrication laboratories.

Researchers at Chalmers University have developed a new method to prevent infections relating to medical implants, by covering a graphene-based material with bactericidal molecules. 

“Through our research, we have succeeded in binding water-insoluble antibacterial molecules to the graphene, and having the molecules release in a controlled, continuous manner from the material. This is an essential requirement for the method to work. The way in which we bind the active molecules to the graphene is also very simple, and could be easily integrated into industrial processes,” explains Santosh Pandit, researcher at the Department of Biology and Biological Engineering at Chalmers, and first author of the study.

Aquatic Leisure Technologies (ALT) recently announced the world’s first commercial range of graphene-enhanced GFRP swimming pools. This follows June 2020's announcement of First Graphene (FGR) entering an agreement with Aquatic Leisure Technologies to supply PureGRAPH products for development of pool innovations. 

Graphene Nano-Tech pools, which ALT claims are lighter, stronger and more durable than traditional GFRP pools, are manufactured using a process that combines graphene-infused resin with traditional GFRP fabrication.

Australia-based Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) announced that it is undertaking an overnight marketed public offering of units of the Company, for gross proceeds of up to CDN$10 million ($8 million USD).

GMG says that the proceeds will be used to develop a commercial coin cell graphene aluminum-ion battery prototype, front end design and commence building of a battery manufacturing facility (subject to a successful prototype and a final investment decision) and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

After years of intensive R&D efforts, and a slow trickle of graphene devices, we are finally starting to see wider adoption of graphene in many applications. Graphene-enhanced products are entering many markets, including wearables, sensors, audio equipment, medical devices, sports equipment, construction materials and more.

But using graphene is still a challenge, as adopting the material in the right way in your process is not trivial. In addition, there are many graphene types, each with its own properties, and dozens of different graphene producers (link to the graphene catalog?) each with its own material. Choosing the right material is critical to a graphene project success. Finally, as with many material technologies, these kinds of projects take time and effort to achieve the right results.