The Graphene-Info newsletter (September 5, 2023)

Researchers from Singapore's National University of Singapore (NUS) and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) have formulated 'golden rules' for controlling the alignment of supermoiré lattices. 

Moiré patterns are formed when two identical periodic structures are overlaid with a relative twist angle between them or two different periodic structures but overlaid with or without twist angle. The twist angle is the angle between the crystallographic orientations of the two structures. For example, when graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) which are layered materials are overlaid on each other, the atoms in the two structures do not line up perfectly, creating a pattern of interference fringes, called a moiré pattern. This results in an electronic reconstruction. The moiré pattern in graphene and hBN has been used to create new structures with exotic properties, such as topological currents and Hofstadter butterfly states. When two moiré patterns are stacked together, a new structure called supermoiré lattice is created. Compared with the traditional single moiré materials, this supermoiré lattice expands the range of tunable material properties allowing for potential use in a much larger variety of applications.

First Graphene has announced an R&D collaboration with Greatcell Energy, trading as Halocell Energy, and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to commercialize perovskite solar cell fabrication. The project has received a Cooperative Research Centers Project (CRC-P) grant worth over AUD$2 million (around $USD1,300,000).

The research and development project is intended to commercialize ultra-low-cost, flexible perovskite solar cell fabrication using Halocell’s roll-to-roll production process at the company’s Wagga Wagga plant, First Graphene said in an announcement. Through the project, First Graphene plans to develop cost-effective graphene-based electrode replacements for high-cost conductor materials, such as gold and silver, used in cell manufacturing.

NanoXplore and its wholly owned subsidiary, VoltaXplore, a silicon-graphene-enhanced Li-ion battery manufacturer for the Electric Vehicle and grid storage markets, have announced that VoltaXplore has agreed on commercial terms for the supply of Li-ion battery cells with a well-known commercial vehicle OEM. 

The batteries include graphene in the anode (graphene-silicon additives) and battery cells will reportedly be produced in VoltaXplore’s gigafactory starting from 2026. The agreement is for 1 GWh per year for a duration of 10 years following a pricing formula that passes through raw material cost to the customer.

Researchers from Vienna University of Technology and Budapest University of Technology and Economics have developed a comprehensive computer model of realistic graphene structures, to tackle the question of how stable graphene's properties are -  will they be destroyed by disturbances and additional effects, which are unavoidable in practice, or will they remain intact?

The scientists found that the desired effects are very stable. Even graphene pieces that are not quite perfect can be used well for technological applications. "We calculate on an atomic scale how electric current propagates in a tiny piece of graphene," says Prof. Florian Libisch from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at TU Wien. "There are different ways an electron can move through the material. According to the rules of quantum physics, it doesn't have to choose one of these paths; the electron can take several paths at the same time."

Researchers from the University of Surrey have developed a new thermo-active road solution that could help prevent potholes caused by freezing and thawing in the winter. A new project that will test this new approach has been awarded a £800,000 research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering. The outcomes could improve how major roads across the United Kingdom are maintained and upgraded, even as climate change increases the challenge of keeping them fit for purpose.  

As part of this five-year research project, the Surrey team will work with advanced materials engineering company Versarien to develop a new graphene-enhanced microcapsule to dig into the soil beneath the surface when roads are resurfaced to improve heat conduction and storage.

Nanotech Energy, Soteria Battery Innovation Group, and Voltaplex Energy will be working together to address safety concerns related to e-bike batteries. The partnership aims to commercialize U.S produced non-flammable graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery packs by early 2024.

As part of the production process, Nanotech Energy will combine Soteria’s metallized polymer current collectors with their own electrolyte and proprietary electrodes to create high energy, ultra-safe 18650 cells. These cells will initially be manufactured at Nanotech Energy’s facility in Chico, CA, with plans to expand production capacity in the US and Europe. Voltaplex Energy will then utilize these cells to develop battery packs specifically designed for the e-bike, robotics, medical, and military markets. Expansion into other small device markets is also anticipated.

As the world's largest graphene production and consumption country, China is playing an important role in promoting the graphene industry to a new height. For instance, Chinese scientific research teams have made important breakthroughs in graphene preparation, functionalization, and characterization. China has also made significant progress in the graphene industrialization. Many Chinese companies have established graphene production lines and achieved large-scale production. In addition, China is also actively promoting the application and promotion of graphene. The government has formulated a series of policies and plans to encourage the wide application of graphene in electronics, energy, materials, medical treatment, environment and other fields. Graphene has made important breakthroughs in the fields of heat dissipation, batteries, sensors, fibers, coatings, composite materials, etc., and is gradually commercialized.

If you are eager to learn more about the booming development of China's graphene industry and look for new business opportunities and partners, then you must not miss the upcoming 2023 China International Graphene Innovation Conference (GRAPCHINA 2023). As a grand event in the global graphene field, this conference 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).

It was reported that China aims to accelerate the industrialization of materials like graphene and liquid metals, and so the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission jointly released a list of important new materials that they will focus on advancing.

These materials represent the direction and trend of the development of the new material industry, which is an important entry point for building new growth engines, the ministries said. For instance, the ministries called for their subordinate bodies to encourage enterprises to advance the industrialization of graphene in potential sectors such as rail traffic, aerospace equipment, new energy and new-generation information technologies.