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

Here is news involving graphene and Tesla coils. Oh, there is also cool term alert warning ahead.

Not all important scientific research is cool looking, or has a cool name. But now and then you get something with both. These self-assembling carbon nanotubes are created with a process called Teslaphoresis...

Cherukuri has a lifelong love of Tesla coils, which produce powerful AC electrical fields.

What we discovered is that nanotubes can actually string together and form wires by themselves under this electric field,” he said in a video put out by the university. “Teslaphoresis is — the simplest way to understand it is self-assembly at a distance.”

Source: techcrunch.com - Teslaphoresis-activat ed self-assembling carbon nanotubes look even cooler than they sound

You need to go to the source because there are two short animated gifs showing this happen! It looks super neat, like neurons or something! The second one shows them lighting up LEDs induced by the Tesla coil itself! They have made 15 cm CNTs this way.

If you start off with "pre-rolled" CNTs (see above) I wonder if you can use both methods to create even longer strands? Is this it? Room temperature conductor wires for the electric grid?

If you follow F1 racing you know what KERS is. It is an acronym for "Kinetic Energy Recovery System" and they use the spinning tires while under braking to have that energy stored for brief amounts of time for use under acceleration. There is a company debuting this same tech for big rig trucks in Europe.

[Developer] Adgero describes its UltraBoost ST system as the world's first operational energy-saving, hybrid electric system for road transport. It works in a way similar to the kinetic recovery systems used in automotive racing, including GT and Formula One, with an axle-mounted unit underneath the cargo trailer converting slowing and braking energy into electricity that is stored in a bank of graphene-based ultracapacitors. When required, this energy is used to power the electrically-driven axle for a boost of acceleration, helping take some load off the engine of the truck pulling it.

Source: gizmag - Graphene-based ultracapacitors give trucks a boost of acceleration

Seems kind of a no brainer when somebody else does it! I think that is a great use of BOTH technologies. Reducing both exhaust and fuel usage in diesel delivery trucks is a big plus in my book. Bravo!

And here is a two-fer!

The goal of the new study was to create an artificial protein that would self-organize into a new material -- an atomically periodic lattice of buckminster fullerene molecules. Buckminster fullerene (buckyball for short) is a sphere-like molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms shaped like a soccer ball. Buckyballs have an array of unusual properties, which have excited scientists for several decades because of their potential applications. Buckyballs are currently used in nanotechology due to their high heat resistance and electrical superconductivity, but the molecule is difficult to organize in desired ways, which hampers its use in the development of novel materials.

Source: Science Daily - Artificial protein controls assembly of buckyballs

So why is that important one might ask?

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) have discovered that the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables can withstand a 26% higher voltage if nanometer-sized carbon balls are added. This could result in enormous efficiency gains in the power grids of the future, which are needed to achieve a sustainable energy system.
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"Reducing energy losses during electric power transmission is one of the most important factors for the energy systems of the future," says Chalmers researcher Christian Müller. "The other two are development of renewable energy sources and technologies for energy storage."

soutce: power electronics - Carbon Nanoballs Boost Efficiency of High Voltage Transmission Cable

So you have proteins assemble Buckyballs and turn around and use them in transmission lines to boot their efficiency. And that is not even considering CNTs that is plastic insulated transmission lines. The second article states that you do not even have to glop the entire length of the wire.

And while that article is about wind and solar my fusion fanboy kicks into high gear. Nuclear fusion needs the same items: efficient distribution of power and energy storage!

So I know most people do not like to visit links and do reading. But mostly because I do not look at u-tube I was being a moron and did not even search there. So from the Teslaphoresis activated self-assembling carbon nanotubes post above, I will now add the video.

And because this is so super cool...
Rice University - Reconfigured Tesla coil shows ability to align, electrify materials at a distance (3 mins.)

Great news on production method for patterned graphene!

[T]o date, the infrastructure requirements on post-synthesis processing--patterning and transfer--for creating interconnects, transistor channels, or device terminals have slowed the implementation of graphene in a wider range of applications."
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In conjunction with the recent evolution of additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing and computer numerical control milling, we developed a simple and scalable graphene patterning technique using a stencil mask fabricated via a laser cutter," stated Keong Yong, a graduate student and first author of the paper, "Rapid Stencil Mask Fabrication Enabled One-Step Polymer-Free Graphene Patterning and Direct Transfer for Flexible Graphene Devices appearing in [I]Scientific Reports.

Source: Science Codex - University of Illinois researchers create 1-step graphene patterning method

"So you got graphene? So what? What can you do with it? Can you make a square?" (use to be the way it was) Well, if this is adopted and truly is scalable, they will be ale to manufacture to fit! So have an A5 chip that needs cooling? You have nanoribbon you need to connect up to an electrode? That's doable.

So we were in physics class (high school) and the teacher explained resistance, impedance, and conductance (Ohm's Law and what not). Then turned and asked the class, "So what happens to the left over electricity in your computer?" Nobody said anything. TEOT raises his hand. "Yes TEOT?" So I respond, "It is shunted off to a heat sink" A quizzical look, "Yes, that is right! How did you know that?" TEOT, "My dad and I built a computer for me last year. He made me memorize the resistor colors and read the assembly instructions. And I asked if the heat sink is where the excess electricity goes in the circuit and was told I was right"

Essentially, we have found a golden key with which to achieve efficient heat transport in electronics and other power devices by using graphene nanoflake-based film. This can open up potential uses of this kind of film in broad areas, and we are getting closer to pilot-scale production based on this discovery,"
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[T]he heat transfer efficiency of the film can be improved by over 76 percent by introducing functionalization molecules, compared to a reference system without the functional layer.

Source: phys.org - Cooling graphene-based film close to pilot-scale production

The amount of electricity drawn by computers has dropped dramatically (it was 10 volts when I helped build my computer. Last I paid attention it was at 3.3 volts for desktop CPUs). But the CPU is still hot. Graphene was considered but as an entire sheet. This news is films doped with graphene which does away with having to produce an entire sheet! And even better is that it is not just for CPUs but any electronic device. And ready for scale up.

Cool in all manners of the term!

Another release about production ramp up this time in Australia.

In a major breakthrough, Hexagon Resources Ltd. in collaboration with the University of Adelaide has produced graphene using a flake graphite sample from the McIntosh project.
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"The key driver will be the capacity to produce commercial quantities of graphene. These exceptional test work results achieved from a bulk scale representative sample from McIntosh gives Hexagon that capacity”.
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The graphene was able to be produced from Hexagon’s ultra-high purity graphite (+99.9% total carbon) and was successfully demonstrated using all three exfoliation methods.

A high yield of graphene was extracted from graphite at approximately >90%.

The graphene was produced via several methods including a ‘green method’ without the use of hazardous chemicals.

Source: ProactiveInvestors.om (.au), May 3, 2016, Hexagon Resources Ltd: Graphene produced from McIntosh graphite

Not sure exactly what the McIntosh project is but it provides the graphite for production of graphene at purity and yield levels at production volumes.

So Canada (Flinders), Graphene 3D Labs' hush-hush project, Graphene Flagship in Europe, and now Australia (and maybe one in Spain), are all about to be able to make production level graphene. Are we one "killer app" away from the Graphene Revolution?

Anybody in Manchester late July this year (2016)? There will be an exhibit at their Museum of Science and Industry featuring graphene.

Wonder Materials: Graphene and Beyond

23 July 2016 – 25 June 2017, 10am to 5pm

Source: MSIManchester.org - What's on

High lights include
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•Imaginative scientific breakthroughs made by people at the cutting edge of graphene use. Learn more about San Hoon Park’s pom-poms, graphene sheets that have been frizzled into tiny round microspheres by being ‘deep-fried’ in a high-temperature organic solvent. Or discover Melina Blees and her graphene kirigami, in which sheets of graphene are cut and folded into flexible structures which might one day have use in microscopic working machines.

Source: AZO Materials - News

The AZO article is to announce Haydale's sponsorship. In their article they did not supply the dates. I found them on the museum's site. And best of all, it is free! Of course the museum would like a donation. So if you are in the area on those dates, you can see some of the material close up.

Silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-based nanohybrids have been proposed as efficient antimicrobial agents because of their robust bactericidal activity. However, the direct exposure of AgNPs poses a threat towards mammalian cells.

Forming protective coating layers

Two kinds of dopamine-grafted functional biopolymers, heparin and chitosan, were used to reduce the Ag+ ions pre-absorbed onto the oCNT surface and simultaneously form protective coating layers.
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The chitosan-coated samples were particularly effective because of the synergistic effects of chitosan and AgNPs. The shielding effects of the anchored functional biopolymers gave the AgNP-based nanohybrids good compatibility with endothelial cells, especially for the heparin-coated samples.

Source: European-coatings.com - Mussel-inspired coatings on Ag nanoparticle-conjugated carbon nanotubes

Chitosan is what they mean by "muscle inspired" since it is ground up shells and they coat CNT/Ag in layers (my guess). But the main thing is "anti-microbial" because of the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria there will be one more method to combat them--do not get infected in the first place thanks to CNT.

The University of NSW has signed a deal with Hangzhou ­Cables, a listed subsidiary of Chinese manufacturing giant FCJ, to develop more efficient cables. The goal is a 5 per cent boost in electricity transmission in the world’s most populous country.

This would equate to an ­annual saving of 275 terawatt hours, eclipsing Australia’s total electricity consumption.
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Graphene is usually produced as a flaky powder. UNSW material scientist Sean Li has found a way of wiring the flakes together to exploit graphene’s electrical conductivity, which is 40 per cent better than ­copper’s.
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Professor Li’s team will spend the next year developing a 10m prototype cable. The scientists will then work with their Chinese partner to develop a 1km-long version in China.

Source: The Australian (.au), News, May 7, 2016 - University of NSW signs graphene deal with China cable company

So they do not explain how the flakes are stung along into filaments (which is a shame) But that fact that it can be done is awesome!

Great news for U of New South Wales! Better news for the world! Because that means less of a need to crate electricity which means less power generation to make up for the loss which in turns means less pollution. Current (hehe, noticed after I typed it!) transmission cables are designed to get high voltage from one place to another while minimizing loss (heat). Graphene is an efficient transmitter of electricity with minimal loss. Even the previous post about buckyballs shows that even sprinkling the stuff on the wires prior to shielding them increases efficiency. With entire graphene filaments in the strands... (mind blown)

More efficient energy transmission is one of two items I've been going on, and on, about that need to happen prior to a nuclear fusion reactor coming online (the other being energy storage). Graphene and graphene aerogel are both going to be at the party!

Update

A UK startup has created a grapene based super capacitor that charges your mobile device!

So you plug the charger into the wall for five minutes and it is fully charged. You take it with you. Batteries dying? You plug your device in and it charges normally.

The device is scheduled for release "Summer 2016". Being a start up it looks like you help them out by pre-ordering. And not bad for 150 dollars (think it is US) with 20 dollars shipping.

Site: Zap & Go Charger

Sad news

Checked their website and it now reads "Estimated delivery: Late 2016" I guess we'll have a new X-mas wish item.

Back one page ("Highlights from the Graphene Flagship") there was a story entitled, "Graphene and Neurons - best friends" that had a link to a paper's abstract.

ScienceDaily now has a better, more compete write up on how grahpene is being used with neurons and how the scientists envision its use.

In particular, the study showed how effective graphene oxide flakes are at interfering with excitatory synapses, an effect that could prove useful in new treatments for diseases like epilepsy.
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"We administered aqueous solutions of graphene flakes to cultured neurons in 'chronic' exposure conditions, repeating the operation every day for a week. Analyzing functional neuronal electrical activity, we then traced the effect on synapses" says Rossana Rauti, SISSA researcher and first author of the study.

In the experiments, size of the flakes varied (10 microns or 80 nanometers) as well as the type of graphene: in one condition graphene was used, in another, graphene oxide. "The 'buffering' effect on synaptic activity happens only with smaller flakes of graphene oxide and not in other conditions," says Ballerini.

Source: ScienceDaily.com, May10, 2016 - Graphene flakes to calm synapses

The graphene oxide (GO) did a better job at keeping the over excited neurons from firing. Their thoughts are administering the GO to control excess firing (i.e., epilepsy). The GO crumples up so they believe it allows more surface contact between neuron synapses.

The news is out that NASA has released patents out to the general public. Here is one they have released about making carbon nanotubes (CNT).

The process uses an arc welding process to apply high electrical current to a carbon (or graphite) anode and a graphite cathode for specified periof [sic, "period"] of time under closely monitored conditions that result in the formation of the single wall nanotube (SWNT) on the first 5cm of the graphite anode. Using this process, we have obtained yields of about 50% of CNTs of different sizes.
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Our estimated cost of production using the developed procedure is $50/g purified SWCNTs,

Source: NASA Technology Transfer Program - Method Of Manufacturing Carbon Nanotubes

So there is one more method to create CNTs. Now if they can be stitched together into longer strands that would be grand! Even better if they can be created like spools of thread. Stands of CNTs bundled together like high-tension wires will be a game changer for energy distribution.

Back when this thread was started there was post about using graphene as condoms. Well what do you know...

Condom maker HLL Lifecare Ltd on Thursday said it has secured a research grant of Rs.6.43 crore from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for its phase II graphene condom project.
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[The team] successfully completed the first phase of the study, which involved producing the proto-type of graphene-natural rubber latex nanocomposites based condoms for high heat transfer, improved sensitivity to increase the sexual pleasure and the value of condoms.

"This second stage investment will be used for the scaling up graphene incorporated natural rubber latex condom production,"

Source: Business Standard - Rs.6. 43 cr for HLL from Gates Foundation for graphene condom project

So the conversion of 1 crore rupee to US dollars, according to google, is 214,431. Which translates to about US$ 1.38 million. "Natural rubber"? They still make those? I thought it was all latex. Oh well. The second thing that shocked me was that it was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! Whole threads can be written and fought over that statement alone! (i.e., please, if you want to spill electrons over it, please start a conversation or skunkworks thread)

Sex and graphene! Who would have thunk?

Oil wells have a set of problems around them that need to be addressed. One being the layers of material that a well passes through makes it difficult to have just one method to strengthen and reinforce the well. Here is some news on using graphene nanoribbons along with a polymer to reinforce sandstone. And it has microwaves!

In lab tests, a polymer-nanoribbon mixture was placed on a sandstone block, similar to the rock that is encountered in many wells. The team found that rapidly heating the graphene nanoribbons to more than 200 degrees Celsius with a 30-watt microwave was enough to cause crosslinking in the polymer that had infiltrated the sandstone, [James] Tour said. The microwave energy needed is just a fraction of that typically used by a kitchen appliance, he said.

"This is a far more practical and cost-effective way to increase the stability of a well over a long period," Tour said.

Source: Phys.org - Microwaved nanoribbons may bolster oil and gas wells

Universe has been slapping me in the back of the head to "pay attention" a lot lately.

The researchers took a single layer of graphene... and sandwiched it between two thin layers of a material called boron-nitride. [Another 2D, honeycomb structure]
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"Electrons do not flow easily within boron-nitride; it essentially acts as an insulator"

Xu and Wu discovered that when the graphene layer's lattice is aligned with the layers of boron-nitride, a type of "superlattice" is created with properties allowing efficient optoelectronics that researchers had sought. These properties rely on quantum mechanics, the occasionally baffling rules that govern interactions between all known particles of matter. Wu and Xu detected unique quantum regions within the superlattice known as Van Hove singularities.
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By a conservative estimate, Xu and Wu report that within this superlattice one photon could "kick" as many as five electrons to flow as current.

With the discovery of collecting multiple electrons upon the absorption of one photon, researchers may be able to create highly efficient devices that could harvest light with a large energy profit.

Source: Phys.org - Researchers unleash graphene 'tiger' for more efficient optoelectronics

Not sure exactly what they mean by "harvest light for opto-electronics". But I do know that sandwiching graphene with other 2D materials is going to go off in the near future. I also get the "one photon kicking off 5 electrons" and transferring the light energy to multiple electrons. This method seems well suited for photovoltaic cells.

And they do not talk of "quantum" in any significant way (what the quantum effect does to allow the transfer) unless it the "Van Hove singularity" which is not explained. Even Wikipedia does not explain Van Hove singularities in quantum terms. But by using "quantum" it grabbed my attention! So kudos to them for luring me in!

Graphene has been shown to be efficient at transferring electricity so when insulated by boron-nitride there are areas where both align (super lattice) containing Van Hove singularity. I guess there are quantum entanglements between G and B-N in that region and shows how one photon can transfer its energy to multiple electrons. This is not seen in either material by itself but only when used together and properly aligned. Cool!

News from Graphene 3D Labs.

The Company has commissioned a new production reactor that results in a 5-fold increase in the production capabilities of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide. Using this extended capacity, the Company produced a new class of materials: Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide Foams. These foams are in the class of ultralight materials and have density of approximately 20 mg/cm3, which is only about 17 times heavier than air.

Due to the Company's proprietary technology, these new materials can remarkably hold up to 3,500%-8,000% of their own weight of organic solvents and oils, all while being unaffected by water.
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Due to its high oil absorption capacity, our porous solid state foams are an excellent solution for fast and effective oil clean-up. In addition to the aforementioned, these materials also have commercial application in energy storage devices, chemical catalysts and ultrasensitive sensors.

Source: Graphene 3D Lab Inc., May 16, 2016 - Graphene 3D Lab Introduces a New Class of Graphene Material with Exceptional Oil Absorbance Properties

They even mention the Exxon Valdez oil spill! Yes, the big spills will definitely be one use. But the North Slope, as is most oil production in the developed world, is highly regulated. Even oil from your vehicle is considered an EPA reportable spill (from time to time you see, "umpteen thousand oil spills in Alaska last year" reported as news! Which it is not.) That is a huge market right there. Then your gearheads and automotive shops... another ready made market!

Could this be the graphene version of the "killer app"?

So here is a non-TASS version of the story. These guys are in Russia but it either confirms the WA researcher's work above or they were in collaboration (looks independent to me).

In their paper, the researchers point out that until recently, van Hove singularity was barely noticeable in bilayer grapheme – the edges of the “Mexican hat” were indistinct due to the low quality of the samples. Modern graphene samples on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrates are of much better quality, and pronounced van Hove singularities have been experimentally confirmed in the samples using scanning probe microscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy.

An important feature of the proposed transistor is the use of “electrical doping” (the field effect) to create a tunneling p-n junction. The complex process of chemical doping, which is required when building transistors on three-dimensional semiconductors, is not needed (and can even be damaging) for bilayer graphene. In electrical doping, additional electrons (or holes) occur in graphene due to the attraction towards closely positioned doping gates.
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“This means that the transistor requires less energy for switching, chips will require less energy, less heat will be generated, less powerful cooling systems will be needed, and clock speeds can be increased without the worry that the excess heat will destroy the chip,” says Svintsov.

Source: Nanowerk, news, May 17, 2016 - New type of graphene-based transistor will increase the clock speed of processors

So another slap in the back of the head for me! It seems like the Russian team proposed building a transistor of the sandwiched graphene/boron nitride material. Again with the "van Hove" quantum effect. But instead merely observing the effect this is putting it to use.

The terahertz computing generation will be here sooner than expected!

Another post on Nanowerk. This time about heating-cooling properties of graphene and the Peltier effect (wikipedia entry)

Thermoelectrics is the field of study that deals with situations in which a temperature difference creates an electric potential, or vice versa, an electric potential creates a temperature difference. One example of this is the Peltier effect, which is a temperature difference that appears when a voltage is applied between two electrodes connected to a semiconductor material. The Peltier effect allows the electrical control of cooling and heating.

Researchers from University of Groningen and the University of Manchester have now, for the first time, directly detected the Peltier effect in graphene.

Source: Nanowerk, news, May 17, 2106 - Playing with the thermostat in two dimensions: cooling and heating of graphene

The article states that depending on the carrier charge graphene can switch between cooling and heating! That is wild to think about. I wonder if that can be incorporated into clothing materials? A battery, a double-throw button (on-off, hot-cold), and never facing the cold again! And in the summer, always staying cool!

Even it is just small temps, the effective shedding of heat in electrical circuits has a vast implications.

This IDTechEx award is given annually to a commercially successful end product that impacts the marketplace with its technology and society at large. Vittoria is one of the first industrial partners for Directa Plus able to produce such a remarkable innovation in its market, with a graphene-based product.

Vittoria and Directa Plus have been working together with a strong synergy to develop two different products based on pristine graphene nanoplatelets, powered by G+ Technology: from its market entry in cycling wheels in 2014 to the upcoming introduction of a new generation of tyre, Vittoria is leading the revolution that will change the cycling industry.

Source: AZO Materials, news, April 30, 2015 - A Directa Plus Graphene-based Product was Honored with the IDTechEX Commercialisation Award in Berlin This Week

Cool on two fronts. First is the award to Vittoria and their Directa Plus G+ enhanced tires. And the second is they are coming out with a new generation of their tires! I was going to, eventually, throw down some money for the upgrade but if they are making a second-gen tire I might wait to see when those are due out.

Bah! I am an idiot. I thought it was a new article but the date is 2015! Sorry.

Vittoria - home page

[ETA: Yes! They have them in 29" sizes! Woot! Should have read the entire article because they (Directa Plus) have a factory that can make 30 tons of graphene a year]