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

The team found that adding just 0.01% graphene nanoflakes compared to the total mass of lubricant improved its thermal conductivity by 17%, with almost no changes in viscosity. The enhancement of the lubricant's thermal properties generally varied according to the size, concentration and heating rates of the graphene nanoflakes used. The researchers believe that the enhanced thermal properties are due to graphene's large surface area, even distribution and Brownian motion – the erratic random movement of its molecules due to collisions with other molecules. Improved thermal conduction means the lubricant is better able to carry heat away from an engine.

Source: Phys.org, news, May 20, 2016 - Graphene-based nanolubricants could grease automotive industry’s future

It is pretty amazing that such a small amount can have such a dramatic of an effect! What they need is an actual product to demonstrate. They can use the graphene foam to clean up any spills!

Researchers at Manchester University tested two kinds of rubbery materials - natural rubber and a man-made rubber. They added graphene of different kinds, amounts and size.

They found that adding a very small amount of graphene to rubber films can increase both its strength and stretchiness by up to 50%.

Source: BBC news, May 20, 2016 - Graphene can make rubber more rubbery say scientists

"Stretchiness"? Really? At least they didn't use "boffin" (Brit slang for an "egghead" and/or "scientist")! And why not quote the "very small amount"? That would be news. Nope. Just a "drive-by" article. *sigh*

All graphene news comes in threes!

He [Gary Savage] said: "We have taken the best of everything we have learned in Formula One to create the best fly rod ever made."

"The rod is a game changer for expert and less-experienced anglers.

"It not only flexes deeply at the beginning of a cast but it straightens again powerfully, which gives you distance, and critically it also retains the vital 'feel' that salmon fishers need to adjust their technique and accuracy."

The rods cost almost £1,000 to buy.

Source: BBC News, May 20, 2016 - Angler and space shuttle engineer claim world first for graphene fishing rod

Again, MSM just does not seem to care about providing information! Is the whole thing made of graphene? Sure it is not "graphite" because those have been around for a while. Is it enhanced with graphene in specific places or the whole rod? Don't know. How about the company link? Nope, did not provide that either!

Gary Savage is the "NASA engineer" in the headline. He also worked for McLaren auto racing. F1 cars are made of carbon fiber (oh, my bad, fibre) not graphene. But hey, it is kinda catchy and you can dance to it!

...The spectral triangulation system developed by Rice chemist Bruce Weisman and his colleagues is intended to pinpoint targeted cancer tumors tagged with antibody-linked carbon nanotubes.
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The Rice technique relies on the fact that single-walled carbon nanotubes naturally fluoresce at short-wave infrared wavelengths when excited by visible light. A highly sensitive detector called an InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) avalanche photodiode made it possible to read faint signals from nanotubes up to 20 millimeters deep in the simulated tissue used for lab tests.

"We're using an unusually sensitive detector that hasn't been applied to this sort of work before," said Weisman, a recognized pioneer for his discovery and interpretation of near-infrared fluorescence from single-walled nanotubes.
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"It gives us a fighting chance to see nanotubes deeper inside tissues because so little of the light that nanotubes emit finds its way to the surface," Weisman said. "We've been able to detect deeper into the tissues than I think anyone else has reported."

Source: Phys.org - Nanotubes are beacons in cancer-imaging technique

So single-walled CNT are tagged onto antibodies then injected. They are using LEDs as the light source! Why does this remind of QA check on chicken eggs? It is the same idea but this one has sw-CNTs! The idea is pretty cool and more tools for detecting cancer is always welcome.

Rice University scientists have advanced their graphene-based de-icer to serve a dual purpose. The new material still melts ice from wings and wires when conditions get too cold. But if the air is above 7 degrees Fahrenheit, ice won't form at all.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour gave its de-icer superhydrophobic (water-repelling) capabilities that passively prevent water from freezing above 7 degrees. The tough film that forms when the de-icer is sprayed on a surface is made of atom-thin graphene nanoribbons that are conductive, so the material can also be heated with electricity to melt ice and snow in colder conditions.
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The Rice films use graphene nanoribbons modified with a fluorine compound to enhance their hydrophobicity. They found that nanoribbons modified with longer perfluorinated chains resulted in films with a higher contact angle, suggesting that the films are tunable for particular conditions

Source: Phys.org, May 23, 2016 - Rice de-icer gains anti-icing properties

Planes, oil rigs, power lines, radar domes, ships... who doesn't need a good de-icer? Especially those in the Northern climes! It has actually cooled down here in the AK to a modest 50 degree F. You can tell the tourists by the fact they have down jackets and mittens on in May. (Mittens in May!) So if this works in films for planes who's to say it wont be in clothing?

The "contact angle" portion is interesting. A few weeks ago there was a story about a rubber coating that you could push in and it changed the contact angle so the ice sheet splintered and lost cohesion with the coating. This one is active! You can keep ice from forming in the first place!

Graphene in the spaces in between!

Over the past few years, researchers have begun working on making supercapacitors that are transparent and flexible due to their potential use in a wide variety of applications.

"Potential applications can be roughly divided into two categories: high-aesthetic-value products, such as activity bands and smart clothes, and inherently transparent end-uses, such as displays and windows," coauthor Tanja Kallio, an associate professor at Aalto University who is currently a visiting professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, told Phys.org. "The latter include, for example, such future applications as smart windows for automobiles and aerospace vehicles, self-powered rolled-up displays, self-powered wearable optoelectronics, and electronic skin."

The type of supercapacitor developed here, called an electrochemical double-layer capacitor, is based on high-surface-area carbon. One prime candidate for this material is single-walled carbon nanotubes due to their combination of many appealing properties, including a large surface area, high strength, high elasticity, and the ability to withstand extremely high currents, which is essential for fast charging and discharging.

Source: Phys.org, May 23, 2016 - Transparent, flexible supercapacitors pave the way for a multitude of applications

So It used to be that they thought of things like we do now, complete and separate. Battery over here. Display over there. But if you can do both at once is now crossing the thought threshold. Both at the same time. That too will be "the wave of the future". Thanks to being so small, "atomically thin", this and other uses are no-brainers. Thanks sw-CNTs!

Glow in the dark skin! Be your own lighter at the rock concert!

[Michael Sung's] solution [to the problem of carbon emissions] is [to] take waste gas emissions and transform them into a usable fuel base for electric vehicles.
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[H]is process hopes to be able to create one thousand times more yield at one thousandth the cost.

Sung and his team use a cubic press and a process similar to synthetic diamond production to collect graphene. A mix of nickel and iron powder is mixed into a solvent, and a graphite source is melted in the solvent and recollect onto a diamond seed.

Sung’s process takes a vacuum furnace and introduces his metal solvent and a high purity graphite source. The process melts off the carbon from the graphite source and the graphene layers float to the top of the furnace. The process should be scalable [he says]

Source: engineering.com, May 26, 2016 - Mass-Volume Graphene Production, A Moonshot Project

He is from MIT, of course (rolls eyes). What are they feeding the people at MIT! Nuclear fusion, flow batteries, graphene... can I have some please?

So the whole "carbon emission" is not taking CO2 out of the atmosphere and making graphene like I thought when I read the article. (Re-reading the article that intro makes no sense!) He is solving the mass production of graphene in order to use it in batteries (increased capacity) for electric cars to reduce carbon emissions.

A graphite mixture is melted in a vacuum furnace and graphene floats to the top. Crazy! I hope it is scalable so the graphene age can start!

When the palladium complex Pd2(dba)3 is dissolved in chloroform, it forms a dark red solution under normal circumstances. But when grapheme... is added to the solution, the palladium is completely consumed. As a result, the solution turns from dark red to colourless.

Using advanced imaging techniques, the researchers found that the palladium clusters selectively attach to graphene’s surface according to specific patterns, depending on how reactive the carbon centres are. Individual palladium particles settle onto point defects, local accumulations of particles are present on larger defects, and short chains outline linear defects.
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The palladium particles act like a contrast agent, allowing the spatial imaging of the chemical reactivity, and thus the defects, of graphene layers.

Source: Nanowerk, May 13, 2016 - New technique allows to visualize defects on the surface of grapheme

Finding clusters of defects they plan to selectively make graphene "customizable" with islands of defects for specific purposes. This becomes especially important when layering graphene with other materials as some enhance the properties and the other detract the desired interactions.

Graphene does not have a completely flat surface. There are clusters where carbon gathers, others where the surface rises, there are holes, rumples, wrinkles, etc. At first, researchers were not happy about this but they soon realized that those "features" give rise to what they were interested in! Until this technique these features could not be seen. Now they are going to start mapping them out. Once they map them out, then it becomes manufacturing for purpose. IDK if this manufacturing for purpose can be scaled up but is still one more great step on graphene road!

Supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices.
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[I]ndividual supercapacitor units have very low stand-off voltage, 3 V, the EDLCs [Electric Double Layer Capacitors] are connected in series stacks. The EDLCs need to be interconnected and balanced with an electronic circuit, which results in a bulky and expensive energy storage system.

The GESD-SBU [Graphene ESD, Stony Brook Univ.] team demonstrated design and implementation of a sealed high-voltage EDLCs energy storage unit. The unit is internally balanced, there is no need for an external circuit. ...The bench-top prototype unit, tested up to 10 V, exhibited good discharge characteristics and charge retention. This development enables new compact energy storage solutions for grid and vehicular applications.
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High surface area and outstanding electrical conductivity of graphene enable devices with a unique combination of fast charge/discharge and large stored energy. Our devices utilize graphene platelets manufactured from high-quality natural graphite by a low-cost scalable process.

Source: Yahoo! Finance News, May 31, 2016 - Lomiko Technologies Subsidiary Graphene ESD Succesfully Completes Supercapacitor Research and Development Project With Stony Brook University

Cool! The link mentioned CNTs so I wonder if that is how they interconnect the graphene-enhanced EDLCs. Anyway, a super capacitor for your car! And can be scaled for grid storage (another one of my favorite topics) that is cool news. Again, graphene news in a financial report. They did not even explain any of their terms used. You have to know what "platelets" are in order to get what is going on. (They are graphene flakes stacked on top of each other to form a small stack anywhere between 2 - 10 nm thick. They are so small it looks like a powder). The article also mentions 3D printing (the company GESD has the capability) so if they can print these super capacitors that would be really cool!

There is pretty good write up (five pages worth!) on the history of carbon nanotubes over at NanoWerk. Some highlights are:

• Carbon Nanotubes (CNT or CNTs) are found in nature
• There are two main types, single-, and double-walled (swCNT and dwCNT)
• The manufacturing process was labor intensive at first. These CNTs were used as benchmarks for aerospace.
• Buckyballs (fullerenes) are found in nature and have not been patented
• Some CNTs are “capped” with half Buckyballs on each end

Full write up at nanowerk.com - Birth and early history of carbon nanotubes

[Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology team] fabricated a transparent anode in a composite structure in which a TiO2 [titanium dioxide] layer with a high refractive index (high-n) and a hole-injection layer (HIL) of conducting polymers with a low refractive index (low-n) sandwich graphene electrodes. This is an optical design that induces a synergistic collaboration between the high-n and low-n layers to increase the effective reflectance of Tes [transparent electrodes]. As a result, the enhancement of the optical cavity resonance is maximized. The optical cavity resonance is related to the improvement of efficiency and color gamut in OLEDs. At the same time, the loss from surface plasmon polariton (SPP), a major cause for weak photon emissions in OLEDs, is also reduced due to the presence of the low-n conducting polymers.

Under this approach, graphene-based OLEDs exhibit 40.8% of ultrahigh external quantum efficiency (EQE) and 160.3 lm/W of power efficiency, which is unprecedented in those using graphene as a TE.

Source: Science Daily, June 4, 2016 - Graphene-based transparent electrodes for highly efficient flexible OLEDS

If you don’t understand all the techno-jargon that is fine. What they created is a polymer-backed, graphene layered substrate that they connected with a thin dot of titanium dioxide near the center then capped with another polymer layer. They have graphene electrodes (thin, low power), add power, and the organic LED in the center lights up. So what right? The layers are so thin that the whole thing can bend. The amount of contrast between the low- and high-refractive contrast means the graphene OLED out performs other OLED that previously used graphene.

This is all just proof of concept (POC) but demonstration of concept is always a major achievement. Now all that is needed is to shrink the size down, line them up in rows and columns, and there is your cool, wrap around a pole, monitor. Cool news from Korea!

A graphene/carbon nanotubes story that explains how graphene aerogel is made.

The basic principle of developing aerogel is to remove solvent in the gel and retain the integrity of the solidifying material. In the past, scientists used the sol-gel [solution-gel] method and template-oriented method. The former can synthesise aerogel on a large scale, but has poor controllability, while the latter generated ordered structures.

However, Professor Chao’s team explored a new method known as freeze-drying. Here, they basically freeze-dried solutions of carbon nanotubes and combined it with a large amounts of graphene oxide. Residual oxygen was then removed chemically.

“With no need for templates, its size only depends on that of the container,” he explained. “Bigger container can help produce the aerogel in bigger size, even to thousands of cubic centimetres or larger.”

The properties of [this] graphene aerogel are thought to be much more elastic than previous attempts

Source: Engineering Material, June 7, 3016 – The lightest solid on Earth

Graphene aerogel is really cool science. So you freeze-dry CNTs in solution, add graphene-oxides, then remove the oxygen (by chem wash) and frozen solution using freeze drying techniques (you get the whole thing colder). Then you have graphene aerogel. You can pour the solution into any shape that is needed (mold) before removing the oxygen. The freeze-drying of the CNTs sets the bonds so the CNTs hold the shape of the mold—so does the aerogel.

I wonder if this can be done with teslaphoresis? There would be one strong, long CNT reinforced with graphene. Seems like somebody will try at some point. Anyway, a good read and nice overview.

All good things come in threes! It is kind of difficult to explain but the article has pictures that make it easier to understand.

"In our new research, by integrating a large area multilayer (ML) graphene on a piece of printing paper, we managed to fabricate optoelectronic devices on paper using electro-modulation of graphene layer via reversible intercalation process."

The paper device consist[s] of two multilayer graphene layers transfer-printed on both sides of the paper. In this configuration, multilayer graphene simultaneously operates as the electrically reconfigurable optical medium and electrically conductive electrodes.

In addition, the paper substrate yields a flexible and foldable mechanical support for the graphene layers and it holds the electrolyte (room temperature ionic liquid) in the network of hydrophilic cellulose fibers.

Source: Nanowerk, Spotlight, June 8, 2016 - Graphene enables optoelectronics on regular paper

Using paper that is soaked with an electrolyte (unstated), they separate two multi-layered graphene sheets (only a little more than a centimeter square in area). One is used to control the other and the other way around. What is cool is that they can trace-cut onto the graphene (one side) layer and control it with the other (they illuminated the cut side graphene layer). They can fold the paper as well by etching creases into it (there are photos at the article) and they formed a four-sided pyramid with folds down the center so it stood up. They added pigments that allowed light to filter through so when there is no electricity applied it is black; turn on the juice and light passes through at the specific wavelengths needed to “see through” the paper!

The main problem is that graphene is flat and the paper layer is rough and bumpy (from the graphene’s point of view) so fabrication is an issue. Yet another POC demonstrated. On plain office paper!

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
A graphene/carbon nanotubes story that explains how graphene aerogel is made.

Dunno if you saw this but NASA recently "gifted" some of their patents to the public domain.
technology.nasa.gov...

Among the Plasmoid Thrusters, Aerospace Laser Ablation Thrusters, MHD Hall Thruster, Aersopace Shockwave Weakening tech etc etc, there was this little gem: Method For Manufacturing High Quality Carbon Nanotubes

Basically a way to reduce the cost of manufacturing Carbon Nanotubes to a fraction of the current cost
Filed in 2002.

Hmmmm.

a reply to: Jukiodone

Yes, I did see that. Do you see there is a thread on the NASA patents? The one on reducing hyper-sonic booms that although not stated what material they are using, on the leading edge it is a honey-comb patterned material that has "rods" coming off them to "disturb the air flow thus lessoning the noise" generated by airflow. The only thing I came up with off the top of my head is graphene and carbon nanotubes.

NASA's method creates flakes and CNTs. What is needed is a method of creating sheets of the stuff. That they were creating the stuff back in 2002 is pretty funny. What were they using it for? That was 3 years prior to the complete study (and Nobel prize) on graphene. I love the aerogel form. Might go pick some up one day if for nothing else than have a conversation starter (you know, hip nerd at the party with his graphene aerogel).

This conversion is made possible because the electronic speed can approach the light speed in graphene, breaking the 'light barrier.'" Just as breaking the sound barrier generates a shockwave of sound, he says, "In the case of graphene, this leads to the emission of a shockwave of light, trapped in two dimensions."

The phenomenon the team has harnessed is called the Čerenkov effect, first described 80 years ago by Soviet physicist Pavel Čerenkov. Usually associated with astronomical phenomenon and harnessed as a way of detecting ultrafast cosmic particles as they hurtle through the universe, and also to detect particles resulting from high-energy collisions in particle accelerators, the effect had not been considered relevant to Earthbound technology because it only works when objects are moving close to the speed of light. But the slowing of light inside a graphene sheet provided the opportunity to harness this effect in a practical form.

Source: Phys.org, June 13, 2016, - Researchers discover new way to turn electricity into light using graphene

The article goes on to ponder using this effect in optical computer circuitry. They already can control electricity so if they create light from electricity in graphene then there is your vehicle towards an optical switch. The other neat benefit is the ability to study Cernkov radiation on the desktop. Pretty neat trick that graphene can do!

Here is a story about using Carbon Nanotubes to create computer chips that operate at faster and faster speeds.

Constructing Nanoscale Photonic Devices

Engineering researchers achieved this feat by installing carbon nanotubes 1 micrometer in length by 1 nanometer in diameter on metal contacts transverse to the wave guide. The researchers accomplished this using dielectrophoresis, the movement of uncharged particles toward the position of maximum field strength in an unevenly charged electric field. Through this process, the carbon nanotubes were deposited from solution and arranged vertically to the waveguide. This method is highly effective for transferring nanoscale objects to carrier materials.
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Even in this early laboratory stage, the researchers are producing light signals from electric signals in the gigahertz frequency range. Light-speed chips mean computers which are significantly faster than ever before, opening up a world of potential for future computing power.

Source: Engineering.com, June 13, 2016 - Light-Speed Computer Chips via Carbon Nanotubes

They are building the future of computing at the nanoscale! So with the previous post about turning electricity into light with graphene and the graphene optoelectronics on regular paper just makes me wonder what the future will look like. Smart cards that are you cell phone running at tera-hertz speeds? This is just crazy news! Light constrained in graphene circuits... that is pretty cool!

Yet another "investment site" scooping tech news.

The battery – which comprises an Aluminium-Graphene-Oxygen chemistry – is said to be safer and more stable than lithium-ion batteries, and is shown to have vastly superior energy density.

But perhaps even more significant is the patent that describes the chemical synthesis process to manufacture highest quality graphene on a commercial scale – one of the key barriers to the successful use of graphene in both battery storage applications and in solar cell development.

LWP says funds invested will be spent on developing prototypes for the first of three patents that have been lodged, with an initial focus on the battery technology – including an “ultra fast” rechargeable aluminium-graphene-ion battery.

The JV partners intend to license the technology to battery manufacturers and other industry participants.

Source: Renewconomy (.au) - June 15, 2016 - Australian company buys 50% stake in “game-changing” graphene battery storage technology

Can this be it?! (Does breathing exercise to calm down). The article has a table showing the difference between the Tesla 85 kWh Li-ion pack and their 100 kWh Al-graphene battery. The thing that stands out is their battery is smaller, lighter, lasts longer and the charge time is a joke. Tesla's battery takes 4.5 hours to charge. Their battery charges in 15 minutes! The estimated price is half of what Tesla's battery costs!

They are going to license it out to other manufactures. And there is a new method of making graphene, too! Oh, please Santa-Jesus-God let this be the one! I promise to do all my chores and be extra good this year! (Squeee)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers, along with a team from UC Santa Cruz (UCSC), have devised a method for doubling the performance of 3-D-printed graphene-based supercapacitors.

The method, which involves sandwiching lithium ion and perchlorate ion between layers of graphene in aerogel electrodes, substantially improved the capacity of the electrodes while still maintaining the devices’ excellent rate capability.

Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, New, June 16, 2016 - Lawrence Livermore team improves 3-D-printed graphene aerogel supercapacitors

They doubled the performance of their own previous graphene aerogel electrodes! The UCSC guys had an idea so LLNL gave them their 3d graphene aerogel electrode that was then chemically treaded in a 2-step process adding the lithium and perchlorates onto the aerogel. The process, well (same source)...

Capacitance of graphene aerogel is limited by its relatively small ion-accessible surface area as a result of aggregation and stacking of graphene sheets.

So the ions embedded in the aerogel increases the ion accessible surface area and therefore the performance. I think that is a great collaboration! The LLNL scientist says, since this was 3-d printed in the future you might be able to print your own electronic devices like your phone!

The technology can work with almost any kind of power plant, but the researchers specifically investigated its application for combined cycle (CC) natural gas power plants, which are the most efficient kind of electrical power plant yet still emit massive amounts of CO2.

The idea is to add a molten lithium carbonate electrolyzer to a conventional CC plant, creating a CC carbon nanofiber (CC CNF) plant. Using electrolysis—the same technology that splits water to produce hydrogen—the system applies a voltage to split CO2 into oxygen gas and solid carbon nanofibers. Adding in small quantities of nickel causes the carbon nanofibers to be hollow, forming CNTs.
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The researchers' assessment shows that, for every metric ton of methane fuel consumed, a conventional CC power plant produces $909 of electricity and emits 2.74 tons of CO2. In contrast, the proposed CC CNF plant would produce about $835 of electricity, which is about 8% less than the CC plant. But the CC CNF plant would also produce about 0.75 tons of CNTs, which is worth an estimated $225,000, and emits no CO2.

Source: Phys.org, June 20, 2016 Researchers assess power plants that convert all of their CO2 emissions into carbon nanotubes

Now how is that for some creative thinking? Instead of just ejecting CO2 into the atmosphere you get another useful product out--carbon nanotubes! No need for trapping the stuff underground, reprocessing, etc. What to do with all those CNTs? It can be used for reinforcing fabrics, adding to graphite as a strengthening agent, probably as an insulator (heat wise) for buildings and houses, and a bunch more I am not thinking of.

The research is an idea on paper but it just makes sense. No CO2 emissions and .75 tons of CNTs? I am for the "no emissions" portion alone but also create a "wonder material" while you are at it... that should be a "no brainer"!