The GRAPHENE mega thread - because it's technology you need to know about!

All good news comes in threes!

Calverton, New York-based Graphene 3D Lab Inc. ... has been developing filaments for FDM/FFF 3D printers for some time now. Although their material is not pure graphene, ...this filament that [they have] been working on could certainly play a huge role in numerous markets.

[T]he company has officially announced the commercial availability of their conductive graphene filament. This new filament will be distributed through a new e-commerce platform and brand called BlackMagic3D, which is wholly owned by Graphene 3D Lab.

Source: 3dPrint.com Graphene 3D Lab Launches BlackMagic3D Filament Brand & New Graphene 3D Printing Material

So you can 3D print, plastic containing some graphene, for 65 $USD per 200 gram spool. I wonder if they will ever make a Cheez Whiz version for 3D graphene aerogel?

Completely reusable

Designed in three layers, the microbot tubes outer layer consists of a graphene oxide material that can absorb the lead in the water, followed by the middle layer, which is made from nickel, making these microbots ferromagnetic, so that their direction of motion can be controlled by an external magnetic field.

Finally, the innermost layer is made from platinum, giving the microbots the ability to self-propel themselves through water once hydrogen peroxide is added to the water, which dissolves the platinum and thus propels it forward using the generated oxygen microbubbles.

Source: SiliconeRepublic - Swarms of graphene microbots could be used to clean polluted water

Since the little tubes are filled with both lead and nickel molecules, they use a magnet to extract them from the water. Then comes an acid bath to clean out the lead and clean the bots. Then they are re-usable! The article has a cool animated gif of a worm-like tube rising to the surface of a fish tank then moving to the right--all by itself! No computer controls needed! All they need to do is combine the right materials for single use tasks (clean lead, you clean mercury, you do PCBs, etc) and through natural chemical reactions off goes a fleet cleaning the water!

There have been a number of attempts at overcoming the diffraction limit by using such techniques as interferometry, holography, lasers, and electrons, and although scientists have enjoyed some success, it has only been at great cost and complexity.

Another approach has been to explore the use of ultrathin flat lenses that are etched with concentric circles and act like tiny Fresnel lenses. According to the Swinburne team, this has also had some success, but only by crafting the lenses out of gold and other metals that don't lend themselves to mass production.

Swinburne's breakthrough came when Xiaorui Zheng, a PhD student at the Centre for Micro-Photonics, used graphene oxide to form a lens.
...
According to the team, the new lens is flexible, can resolve objects as small as 200 nanometers, and can even see into the near infrared. This is possible a it breaks the diffraction limit and allows a focus of less than half the wavelength of light.

Source: Physic.org - Graphene optical lens a billionth of a meter thick breaks the diffraction limit

Polycarbonate has been in use for a while so why not graphene? I wonder if one day that might be a reality--graphene eyeglasses. BTW a single human hair strand is 80,000 - 100,000 nm wide just to give you an idea on how small this resolution is in this announcement.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I am an eejit! The actual source of the Graphene Lens is GIZMAG.com and not Physic.org. The URL is right but my description is wrong!

I will take my punishment in shame and humiliation!!

I beg the mercy of the ATS collective!

They took two sheets of graphene, laid them on top of each other, then rolled the whole thing up to create a double-walled tube. Think of it as a graphene Thermos. Then, they synthesized the Carbyne inside the tube, providing a protective casing which allowed the material to remain in tact.

The record for stringing together carbon atoms like this in the past had been 100 in a row; now, the team can put 6,400 atoms together, and have them remain in a chain for as long as they want.
…
Previous calculations have shown that Carbyne is stronger than both graphene and diamond, and around twice as stiff as the stiffest known materials.

Source: gizmodo – Scientists Finally Made Carbyne—a Material Stronger Than Graphene—That Lasts

So the technical term for graphene is sp-2 carbon allotrope (allotrope literally means, “other form” and the “sp-2” designates which form. For graphene it is the 2-dimenstional form). Using computer modelling scientists knew there was another carbon allotrope but this from is one-dimensional, or, sp-1. The problem with making this material was it would come apart as quickly as it was put together.

As the article states, they created a long carbon nanotube by layering 2 sheets of graphene on top of each other and rolling it up. On the inside of the double-walled tube they created carbyne (the name for the sp-1 carbon allotrope) that did not destroy itself as it was being created.

Researchers and manufacturers know how difficult it is to create carbon only (i.e., pure) graphene. Some Harvard and MIT researchers decided to see what happens with graphene oxides (graphene made in the presence of hydrogen and/or oxygen) because of the ease of creating versus graphene. What they did next is pretty cool.

The tip-sonicator is made of piezoelectric material that shakes under a low, 20 Hz frequency voltage. When added to a solution, the tip-sonicator generates sound waves that form bubbles in the solution after stirring up the surroundings.

The research group’s reactor has a piezoelectric component linked to a circuit. On applying voltage, the reactor shakes and forms bubbles in the solution present within the reactor. In comparison with the tip-sonicator, the shaking of the reactor takes place at a higher, 390 Hz frequency..

[They] used both these methods to solutions of graphene oxide flakes and discovered similar effects. The bubbles formed in the solution ultimately collapsed and released energy, allowing the flakes to curl into scrolls in a very spontaneous manner. The researchers discovered the possibility of tuning the dimensions of the scrolls by changing the frequency of the ultrasonic waves and the treatment duration. Shorter treatments and higher frequencies cause no major damage to the graphene oxide flakes and developed larger scrolls, while prolonged scrolls and low frequencies developed smaller scrolls and tended to divide the flakes.

Source: AZO Nano - Graphene’s Imperfect and Cheaper Form Helps Develop Nanoscrolls

So they made bubbles that shook the graphene oxide flakes and when the bubbles collapsed the flakes curl up on themselves making little funnels. The funnels can be used like carbon nanotubes--as water filters. They perform the same tasks in purifying the water but cost less to make because they are not pure graphene.

I wonder if you can use your liposomal vitamin C kit to make these??

Here is an interesting summary on a conference held in Brussels.

The day comprised four distinct sessions, looking at different aspects of graphene and its integration into various devices: (1) photonic devices for data communications; (2) infrared and terahertz applications in detection and sensing; (3) wafer-scale processing and integration; and finally (4) interested industries, commercialization, next steps and challenges.
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"The company [Newtec] considers that an important potential application of graphene is in hyperspectral imaging, such as for the analysis of vegetables, to examine water content, sugar content, ripeness, defects - ultimately whether a foodstuff is suitable for a particular purpose. We would like to be able to integrate visible, near and far infrared scanning, so we are looking for broadband detectors and hopefully graphene technology will gives us the best of both worlds.” (Bjarke Jørgensen, Newtec)

Source: Optics.org Graphene workshop bets on carbon futures

The individual session ended with "industrialization and next steps" Q&A style which made the whole conference run over by an hour! The same quips about this being "lab tech" and not "real world" were made.

An interesting thing is they (the panel) were asked about when an actual product would be available and when. They answered within their respective knowledge area as a device and a "5 to 10 years" timeframe. So the veggie scanner guy answered, "veggie scanner. 5 years", the chip guy said "silicon graphene chip, 5 to 10 years", etc.

So the people in industry don't realize there are already items for purchase out there right now! I guess they don't ski or snowboard or ride bikes. Wonder if any of them have heard of battery charger?

Here is a story about air detectors inside buildings made of graphene looking for air pollution.

[The detector] detects individual CO2 molecules and volatile organic compound (VOC) gas molecules found in buildings and furniture.
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The researchers... developed a sensor which is able to detect individual CO2 molecules adsorbed onto the suspended graphene one by one by applying an electric field across the structure
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By monitoring the electrical resistance of the graphene beam, the adsorption and desorption processes of individual CO2 molecules onto the graphene were detected.

Source: ElectronicsWeekly.com - Graphene sensor could detect sick buildings

I think the use of graphene flakes in suspension like this detector will be one of the more useful applications. They do not need whole sheets so they could probably use "waste" graphene from other manufactures to create these detectors! The substances they are looking for inside the buildings are in the parts-per-billion!

I have a feeling that graphene aerogel
and lots of flux are what Big Black Triangles
are made of.

a reply to: UnderKingsPeak

I was thinking the same thing (as are others) but one disturbing fact I ran across. You cannot really use graphene in moving parts in space! Graphene needs the residual air particles for its lubricity. No air, the stuff turns into tiny wire brushes (like a diamond grinding wheel) and causes damage to the parts it is in contact with.

So, yes to the use on the inside of the BT but the outside? Maybe graphite would be better? Probably why those things do not have windows--rivets would wind up sheering themselves off!

What if you combine graphen with carbyne?

Like Graphen--Carbyne plates.

a reply to: Miccey

Right now they can only make carbyne inside graphene tubes so it already is combined! Funny how the "strongest material in world" falls apart outside of the graphene nanotubes.

So researchers have known about graphene's conductivity and ability to convert light to an electrical current (they made solar cells using doped graphene a few years ago and hit almost 16% efficiency which was a record). What was not known was how quickly it was being done. Until now.

To test the speed of conversion, the ICFO team – in collaboration with scientists from MIT and the University of California, Riverside – utilized an arrangement consisting of graphene film layers set up as a p-n (positive-negative) junction semiconductor, a sub-50 femtosecond, titanium-sapphire, pulse-shaped laser to provide the ultrafast flashes of light, along with an ultra-sensitive pulse detector to capture the speed of conversion to electrical energy.

When this arrangement was fired up and tested, the scientists realized that the photovoltage generation time was occurring at a rate of better than 50 femtoseconds (or 50 quadrillionths of a second).

Source: Gizmag.com - Graphene device make ultrafast light to energy conversion possible

50 Femtoseconds! That is insane! Can graphene get any cooler? (pun slightly intended. Wonder what happens at 2K in conjunction with other materials?)

Big round up of various applications of graphene from the Graphene Flagship (it is both a team of researchers and a yearly consortium--they both use the same name)

Production

Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have devised a way of producing large quantities of graphene by separating graphite flakes in liquids with a rotating tool that works in much the same way as a kitchen blender. This paves the way to mass production of high quality graphene at a low cost.

New display tech

Working with researchers from the Graphene Flagship the Flagship partner, FlexEnable, demonstrated the world’s first flexible display with graphene incorporated into its pixel backplane. Combined with an electrophoretic imaging film, the result is a low-power, durable display suitable for use in many and varied environments.

Use in Fiber Optics

A team of researches... have demonstrated high-performance photodetectors for infrared fibre-optic communication systems based on wafer-scale graphene. This can increase the amount of information transferred whilst at the same time make the devises smaller and more cost effective.

And Frictionless Coating

Research... has observed the onset of superlubricity in graphene nanoribbons sliding on a surface, unravelling the role played by ribbon size and elasticity. This important finding opens up the development potential of nanographene frictionless coatings.

There are several more including a scary/cool sounding "Graphene and Neurons - the best of friends" and a kayak made using graphene flakes to increase strength (and instead of just making a paper and adding a press release they entered it in a competition!). More "news" about graphene and batteries (just get them to production already). Read more at the link below.

Source: Nanowerk - Highlights from the Graphene Flagship

And here is some super secret project that we can't know about but they are ready to start development!

The agreement was to develop “multi-phased deliverables” within the following twelve months. The company involved in the deal has remained unnamed due to confidentiality agreements for what they are saying are competitive reasons. In addition to having absolutely no idea who Graphene 3D Lab had went into business with, they also declined to release any details of the specific research objectives that they are perfusing. The entire deal was all very mysterious, however not totally unprecedented in the tech and materials industries.

Source: 3DPrint.com- Graphene 3D Lab’s Secret Partner Secretly Approves Their Secret Project and Secretly Okays the Super Secret Next Phase

With a title like that who couldn't resist posting it!

Looks like all good things, and graphene news, comes in three.

Park’s team synthesised an elastic polyurethane sponge embedded with fine flakes of piezoresistive graphene, using a simple dip coating method. Adjusting the number of dipping steps, or the concentration of the graphene dispersion, modified the conductivity of the sponge.

The sensor responds to miniscule forces that deform the sponge and the network of graphene flakes within it. Altering the connectivity between these flakes gives a resistance change, which the team could measure. Ridges and grooves on the sponge, designed to mimic a human fingerprint, can then pick up vibrations when moved across a rough surface.

Source: Chemistry World - Graphene sponge soaks up good vibrations

Maybe combine this with the graphene-neuron interface (mentioned above) to give more of a better experience for prosthetic limbs would be the best use. This could also be used for nasty, icky, well... you get the picture.

This one may take a while to explain. So I am reading a book on quantum mechanics covering the early years and formulation of the theory. Every time I pick up a book on the subject I tend to either get more or see more synchronicities. Here is one. A form of graphene known a BuckminsterFullerenes, or commonly called Buckyballs, are a special 3d form. And now they have a direct line to quantum mechanics.

The inverse spin Hall effect is a remarkable phenomenon that turns so-called spin current into an electric current. The effect is so odd that nobody really knows what this will be used for eventually, but many technical applications are conceivable, including very odd new power-conversion schemes," says [Christoph] Boehme, a physics professor.

[Using] two so-called pi-conjugated polymers and the spherical carbon-60 molecule named buckminsterfullerene because it looks like a pair of geodesic domes popularized by the late architect Buckminster Fuller.

The carbon-60 proved surprisingly to be the most efficient semiconductor at converting spin waves into electrical current, Vardeny says.
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Vardeny says the microwave pulses generate spin waves in the device's magnet, then the waves are converted into spin current in the organic semiconductor, and then into an electric current detected as a voltage.

Source: Phys.og - Inverse spin Hall effect: A new way to get electricity from magnetism

This is brand new science. Using an aspect of quantum mechanics, spin current, and buckyballs, they place the device in a magnetic field, shoot it with short bursts of microwaves increasing the spin, then generate electric current (nanovoltage) from the spin Hall effect back through the buckyballs (that is the inverse part) to the detector. They had to isolate the C-60 to keep other em radiation from effecting the electric spin and reducing the efficiency of creating electricity.

The other ways of creating electricity is turning turbines in a magnetic field, solar, or chemical. What they are doing has not been done before! Even the scientists cannot really think of an application!

(PS - I hope that this is a correct explanation of what has been achieved! In my zest to read this I might have missed something)

Carbon nanotubes (CNT), Buckyballs, and graphene all have their uses. Here is great news from Purdue on a new method on making CNT from grapheme.

The technique, called rapid electrokinetic patterning (REP), uses two parallel electrodes made of indium tin oxide, a transparent and electrically conductive material. The nanotubes are arranged randomly while suspended in deionized water. Applying an electric field causes them to orient vertically. Then an infrared laser heats the fluid, producing a doughnut-shaped vortex of circulating liquid between the two electrodes. This vortex enables the researchers to move the nanotubes and reposition them.
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In this study, the procedure was used for multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which are rolled-up ultrathin sheets of carbon called graphene.

Source: Phys.org - System creates on-demand 'nanotube forests,' has potential industry applications

Making a bunch of aligned CNT is another step towards mass production. Uses include terahertz antennas, water purification, and being woven into long strands (they have to be uniform) for better electricity transmission lines.

Graphene is an electric conductor. But graphene is not magnetic unless doped with a metallic material which usually destroys the electrical properties. Until now.

Hydrogen atoms can induce magnetism in graphene and be used to create a uniform magnetic order across [graphene]
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[The researchers] showed that if you take the nonmagnetic configuration of two hydrogen atoms on different sublattices and then remove one of them, a spin-split state immediately emerges, confirming the creation of a magnetic moment. Likewise, if the researchers started with the magnetic configuration of two hydrogen atoms on the same sublattice and then laterally moved one to the opposite sublattice, the split peaks disappeared, indicating that local magnetism had been switched off.

"Our measurements prove that the induced magnetic moments can couple at very long distances and determine the coupling rules between them," says Brihuega. "And very importantly, we achieve the controlled manipulation of single hydrogen atoms, which demonstrates that hydrogen atoms can be used as building blocks to tailor graphene magnetism at will."

While their experiments were performed at 5 K, Brihuega believes that room-temperature graphene magnetism will also soon be a reality.

Source: PhysicsWorld. com - Graphene doped with hydrogen reveals its magnetism

So using a scanning tunnel microscope they placed hydrogen atoms at specific points on graphene. They use the proper term "lattice" and "sub-lattice" but that is just a fancy way of saying "one hex ring". Using quantum spin of hydrogen they made a new version of graphene that can have magnetic properties while keeping its electrical quality. How exactly this is going to be used is not known. The last bit about "room temperature" is important since this will combined with other materials to provide benefits that haven't even been thought up yet!

And there was a business press release from Flinders Resource Ltd (Canadian company) stating they are going to be producing industrial quantities of graphene using their recently purchased company Woxna mine's graphite.

Their goal is 100,000 tons per year for other manufacture. Here is a non-registration link if you like. The whole "press release" thing kind of bums me out because you see "where" they would like to go but not having anything produced only means a longer wait to see if anything actually happens.

Press release source: ProactiveInvestors.com Flinders Resources - Woxna mine produces first grapheme