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

In 2012 the teams of Dr Craciun and Profesor Russo, from the University of Exeter's Centre for Graphene Science, discovered that sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two graphene layers make a whole new system that is more than a thousand times a better conductor of electricity than graphene and by far the best known transparent material able to conduct electricity. The same team have now discovered that GraphExeter [name for graphene-sandwiched ferric chloride] is also more stable than many transparent conductors commonly used by, for example, the display industry.

… (previously)

By using GraphExeter, the most transparent, lightweight and flexible material for conducting electricity, instead of pure graphene, the team have increased the brightness of flexible lights by up to almost 50 per cent.

Source: Phys.org, June 23, 2016 – GraphExeter material illuminates bright new future for flexible lighting devices

2012? And this is only being announced now? Hum, was it in R&D that long or is it more of a “wait for the right market” kind of a thing? Anyway, that article shows the logo being light by a bright and bent small chunk of GraphExeter (yech, think of a more catchy name already!). It looks like a slightly smooshed “C”. This is flexible lighting, not LED or OLED, so it is not for your devices just yet. But the possibilities are still vast! A round, regular flashlight where there is no bulb at the end because the whole thing lights up! Just about anywhere a bulb will not fit and LED strips are too bulky (too bulky?! Never thought there where would be a day where LED strips are considered ‘bulky’!). Anyway, this is a great example of graphene being combined with another material in a synergistic manner. Expect more great things to come with sandwiched graphene!

The below is from the abstract to Lockheed Martin's awarded patent.

Carbon nanotubes and other carbon nanomaterials can be used to form identifying marks that are not visible to the naked eye, thereby making the marks more difficult for an outside entity to tamper with.

From the commentary on the patent.

The patent notes that the properties of carbon nanotubes - in particular their ability to conduct electricity - means that the marks can be "interrogated" by looking for a specific conductance pattern. The marks can be invisible to the naked eye and do not even have to be on the surface of the item to be measured, preventing them from tampering.

Source: SecuringIndustry, June 20, 2016 - Lo ckheed Martin patents anti-counterfeit nanotubes

I've never heard of the source before and a simple search on CNTs a few pages back I found this. The Lockheed Martin is what jumped out at me. This probably means they have a manufacturing process as well. And the "other carbon nanomaterials"--c'mon now, just say "graphene" already. So the length and construction method can be controlled to give a signature conductance... huh? That is nice! So you make a CNT/graphene Q-code anywhere you can measure it to validate you have a genuine part. Now at least I can rest assured that my T-4 CFR will be a genuine Lockheed product!

US Patent No. 9,360,589 (same source)

[ETA: Same source has a posting about Harvard claims they can control chirality of light to make crisper holograms that can not be duplicated unless you can create the same pattern]

The have figured a method of creating graphene in a 3D pattern!

Here, our team sought to find the answer by embedding lanthanum ions (La3+)... in zeolite pores. This lowers the temperature required for the carbonization of ethylene or acetylene. Graphene-like sp2 carbon structure can be selectively formed inside the zeolite template, without carbon deposition at the external surfaces. After the zeolite template is removed, the carbon framework exhibits the electrical conductivity two orders of magnitude higher than amorphous mesoporous carbon, which is a pretty astonishing result. This highly efficient synthesis strategy based on the lanthanum ions renders the carbon framework formation in pores with less than 1 nm diameter as easily reproducible as in mesoporous templates, and thus provides a general method to synthesize carbon nanostructures with various topologies corresponding to the zeolite pore topologies.

Source: ScienceDaily, June 28, 2016 - Synthesized microporous 3D graphene-like carbons

So basically they line zeolite (silica-aluminum), which is porous, with lanthanum ions which give the ethylene something to deposit the carbon on while creating graphene at lower temperatures than not using the lining. The zeolite is rinsed away leaving a 3D graphene structure. As stated, depending on the zeolite pore structure (which is a known, repeatable, process) they can create various structures. This is exactly what is needed for the much hyped (and over promised) graphene battery! It is also very useful for fuel cells. I wonder if this will be combined with graphene aerogel at some point in the future?

Had to google the "Institute for Basic Science" and found out it is in South Korea. Gomabseubnida!

Source: TechRadar.com article (LCA60-T, Lockheed Martin)

"Our vehicle is much shorter, much lighter with a pressure-stabilised hull of helium air, pressurised by a fan and valve system, but no other internal structure."

At 92m long, Airliner is still bigger than a Boeing 747 and can fly for as much as five days without landing. "We can fly three times further than a helicopter and carry many more people – 50 instead of 16 – in the Airlander 10, and do it for about a third of the cost,"
...
The rigid-frame LCA60T also has a rather special electric propulsion system that uses graphene. Its hybrid electric power system uses graphene-based ultracapacitors... that give the airship a boost when it needs to hover, lift cargo, and stabilise itself in bad weather.

"Our ultracapacitor technology driving the airships' electric power systems will ensure manoeuvrability and control, such as vertical take-off and landing ability, which will be vital for heavy-lift industrial applications," says Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies, which manufacturers the graphene-based ultracapacitors.
...
Industrial production of the LCA60T is expected to start in 2020.

Source: TechRadar.com, July 2, 2016 - Airships are back. And this time they use graphene.

And...

To help make these Hybrid Airships available to the world, Lockheed Martin is using Hybrid Enterprises as its exclusive, authorized, worldwide reseller of our Hybrid Airships and related aftermarket value-added services.

Lochheed Martin page (with video) - Hybrid Airship

Two zeppelins?! One French (the Whale Airliner10, production 2019 est.) and the Lockheed's based LCA60T which uses graphene based ultra-capacitors! Which means Lockheed has probably had this tech for a while! I was kind of expecting this to be a story about the skin having graphene reinforced material so imagine my shock when seeing the ultra-capacitors! Makes you wonder what other tech LM has... (psssst, the T4 maybe?...)

The TechRadar article has a bunch of pictures including one of the Whale landing on a lake!

Cool stuff! This post could be its own thread in the Aircraft Projects forum, tagged at the end of the Helium discovery thread, or here in the Technology forums because this is way cool stuff!

Yeah to the return of airships!!

[Graphene’s] application has been limited by its inability to function as a semiconductor, which is critical for the 'on-off' switching operations performed by electronic components.

To overcome this shortfall, the researchers turned to another 2D nanomaterial, Tantalum Sulfide (TaS2). They showed that voltage-induced changes in the atomic structure of the '1T prototype' of TaS2 enable it to function as an electrical switch at room temperature--a requirement for practical applications.

"There are many charge-density wave materials that have interesting electrical switching properties. However, most of them reveal these properties at very low temperature only. The particular polytype of TaS2 that we used can have abrupt changes in resistance above room temperature...”

To protect the TaS2 from environmental damage, the researchers coated it with another 2D material, hexagonal boron nitrate, to prevent oxidation. By pairing the boron nitride-capped TaS2 with graphene, the team constructed a three-layer VCO that could pave the way for post-silicon electronics.

Source: ScienceDaily, July 5, 2016 – Integrated trio of 2-D nanomaterials unlocks graphene electronics applications.

Creating a VCO is a very important step! The one major use I can think of is 'clock'. When pushing electrons around the timing needs to be there to get useful (at least from a human's perspective) information out. Current silicone tech has a crystal VCO to precisely time events (e.g., memory read/writes, caching, etc.). Another use is sound which is great because I think I saw a near flat graphene speaker. Anyway, 3 layered 2D materials is how is how to get it done! Next is voltage to frequency converters for digitizing analog signals.

Another step towards the nearly 2D graphene computer of the future!

Congrats to University of California - Riverside!

One

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated doping-induced tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene, revealing new and unique opportunities for advanced coating materials and transducers.
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"Our study shows for the first time that graphene demonstrates tunable wettability—switchable hydrophobic and hydrophilic behavior—when its electron density is changed by subsurface charged polymers and metals (a.k.a. doping)," Ashraf added. "This finding sheds lights on previous unclear links between quantum-level charge transfer and macroscopic surface wettability for graphene. This exciting finding opens new doors of possibility for tunable surface coating and electrowetting displays without continuous external electric current supply, which will translate into significant energy savings."

Source: Phys.org, July 7, 2016 - Researchers demonstrate tunable wetting and adhesion of graphene.

So what they are saying is that they control how wet graphene can be made to behave. Graphene is naturally hydrophobic (water beads up on it) which is great for using it as barrier. Now they can make it behave opposite to that by selectively doping graphene. Like the article says, for “wet” displays (an alternate to LCD) electric charges create an optical switch which is used to tune colors and making a display. Using graphene, because it is a great electricity conductor means a lower energy usage. (But they are other uses for this, transducers, resistors, etc. so who knows what this will lead to?)

Yet another step in the 2D computer world!

Two

The current silicon-based photodetector used in optical communications has a major issue when it comes to detecting data in the near infrared range, which is the range used for telecommunications. The telecom industry has overcome this problem by integrating germanium absorbers with the standard silicon photonic devices. They have been able to make fully functioning devices on chips using this process. However, this process is complex.

In the new paper, graphene is interfaced with silicon on chip to make high responsivity Schottky barrier photodetectors.
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"Graphene can beat current silicon photonic technology in terms of energy consumption. The Graphene Flagship is investing a lot of resources into wafer-scale integration with the creation of a new Work Package. We have identified a vision, where graphene is the backbone for data communication, and we plan to have a telecommunication bank capable of transferring 4x28 GB/s by 2018. The research in this Nano Letters paper is the first step towards achieving that vision, the importance of which is clearly recognised by companies such as Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent who have joined the Flagship to help develop it."

Source: Phys.org, July 7, 2016 - Graphene based optoelectronics.

This is all technical stuff on how modern communications work. The current germanium-silicon detectors is a multi-step process to make which means “expensive”. If this is realized using graphene in a simple process you save money right there. And since the silicone oxide draped graphene is faster… there you go: cheaper, easier, faster. No wonder Alcatel and Ericsson have climbed on board! And they have a time frame not just a “hey look what we can do” announcement. Notice the “economic” theme?

Way to go Graphene Flagship!

Three. Going to have start calling it “three for Thursdays” because this is the second or third time graphene news has come out in threes on a Thursday. And here is a rarity, all from the same source! Saved the best for last too!

Graphene is stronger than diamond, which allows the extreme amount of pressure to be exerted on trapped molecules without breaking the graphene layers. The two stacked layers also create a self-sealing envelope around the trapped molecules to contain them.

Molecules enclosed between two layers of graphene experience pressures equivalent of 10,000 times the air pressure in a bicycle tyre. [*rolls eyes*]
…
A whole family of 2D crystals have since been discovered, increasing our knowledge and understanding of atomically-thin materials beyond graphene. These new nano-crystals allow us to expand the toolkit with which researchers can work to create the devices and applications of the future.

Source: Phys.org, July 7, 2016 - Graphene hydraulic press delivers new 2D materials.

They do not need to heat the material up then cool it down carefully as not to thermal shock the newly created material and crack it; this is done at room temperature! And do they know there are different types of bicyle tires? Shrader and presta valve? Ever hear of those? Anyway, my mind jumped immediately to cuprates and REBCO. Is this where room temperature super conductor wires will come from? That seems like a good thing to go study. And metallic hydrogen which has only been theorized.

This is really cool news and opens a whole new world for the materials researchers.

LWP Technologies Ltd (ASX:LWP) has finalised its 50% investment in GraphenEra Pty Ltd, an entity that plans to develop an aluminium-graphene-air battery technology.
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LWP now owns a 50% stake in GraphenEra, which will be the exclusive owner of the patents and technology rights.
Patent Application #1

Invention: The invention relates to the sphere of electrical energy storage and notably to metal-air electrochemical cells.

Application: Aluminium-graphene-air battery
…
Patent #1 development program
Development is estimated to take 6 to 12 months and consist of:

- construction of first prototype battery
- independent testing of prototype; and
- building of up to 5 batteries for evaluation by potential licensees

Source: Proactiveinvestors.com (.au), July 7, 2016 - LWP Technologies Ltd (ASX:LWP) has finalised its 50% investment in GraphenEra Pty Ltd, an entity that plans to develop an aluminium-graphene-air battery technology..

Again, this is in an investment journal (hum, never thought of being a speculative tech investor but that might be something to keep in mind). Sad news this is still a half-year off. As far as the 3 graphene news items I found this looking for “graphene battery” so this is not really a strictly “graphene” news item so I won’t count it! (Statistics are fun!). Once they have a prototype that is independently tested is when this will go bananas. I hope that GraphenEra is running in parallel with their financing (i.e., development is currently underway) since the original announcement back in mid-June which places the prototype out to mid-December probably until the first of the year. Bummer. June 14 to July 7 is a pretty short timeline to offer and buy 50% in a company. Good for them on the short turn around. It seems like a pretty good investment at a low price! Now go whip the prototyping boffins to work faster!

Australia appears to have a quiet little energy revolution going on! A graphene battery, residential flow batteries, industrial flow batteries, solar subsidies… way to show us how to get her done!


Still waiting on the graphene “killer app” to arrive…. (*crosses arms, taps foot*)

First the researchers transferred graphene onto silica and used plasma to etch patterns of channels onto it. They next used chemical vapor deposition to grow molybdenite around the edges of each channel until it completely filled the channels. The molybdenite strips overlapped about 100 to 200 nanometers on top of the grapheme.

The resulting transistors had high electron mobilities comparable to those of similar devices assembled physically. The scientists also assembled an atomically thin logic... inverter, or NOT gate.
...
"This is a platform for making more complex circuits, and therefore computers, using completely 2-D materials."

Source IEEE Spectrum, July 11, 2016 - Atomically Thin Circuits Made From Graphene and Molybdenite

A different method for creating circuitry. As stated, the previous efforts involved connecting various materials to graphene to make digital circuits. Seems that most graphene production methods involves a substrate (silica in this instance). It is cool that this has been done but still want to see a method that creates a sheet of graphene like printing a page of paper from a laser printer (pour some stuff in here, select your size, then "set it and forget it"!). Congrats to UC Berkeley on demonstrating this method because all methods need to be investigated and evaluated as we start down the 2D computing path.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Corrections to the Airships are back... story.

The photo is not the Lockheed Hybrid Airship. That is the French Whales ship carrying the house. I would update the link but am past the edit time. Sorry for the misidentification but that photo was over the Lockheed portion of the story. There is no word on how the Lockheed craft is a hybrid (it is not graphene ultra-capacitors, as far as what is known).

Sorry for my over exuberance.

Manchester University physicists are working to build a new aeroplane coated in the atom-thick miracle substance. They believe it will allow planes to fly higher, use less fuel and even protect them from lighting strikes.

Scientists working with aviation experts at Preston’s University of Central Lancashire have create a drone-sized prototype to test out their ideas.

And the 3m wide unmanned aircraft, which is covered in graphene, will be shown off for the first time at Farnborough Air Show this weekend.
...
“Through the data collected from those initial flights our research has now moved on to the next level by developing processes of infusing graphene into composite structures. This newly skinned wing, produced by our industrial partners Haydale Composite Solutions, is enabling us to test the structural and weight saving benefits of graphene."

Source: The Manchester Evening News, July 12, 2016 - Scientists eye first-ever aeroplane made using ultra-thin graphene

There are photos of the drone at the article. The wing looks a uniform gray and kind of shiny! So the headline says "graphene airplane" but it is only the wing that is coated. The article quotes one of the scientists saying that preliminary results show a "60% increase" of impact resistance over carbon fiber wings (same source). With a coating like that it would allow lightening to slide off of it but I always thought that lightening typically hits the top of the fuselage and there are mechanisms for that. I wonder how Haydale created a long enough sheet to coat the entire wing? One of those issues on MSM reporting on science stories. Checking their website Haydale has a coating technology. They also have a cool temp, non-acid based method of creating graphene and sCNT. There is nothing mentioned about the drone.

Anyway, a world's first! (At least as far as the general public can be told about!) A graphene coated wing on a drone that will be demonstrated at the airshow.

With funding from Goddard's Internal Research and Development program, the team has created a laboratory optical bench made up of three commercially available, miniaturized spectrometers optimized for the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelength bands. The spectrometers are connected via fiber optic cables to the focused beam of a three-inch diameter carbon-nanotube mirror.
...
To make a mirror, technicians simply pour the mixture of epoxy and carbon nanotubes into a mandrel or mold fashioned to meet a particular optical prescription. They then heat the mold to... cure and harden the epoxy. Once set, the mirror then is coated with a reflective material of aluminum and silicon dioxide.

"After making a specific mandrel... many tens of identical low-mass, highly uniform replicas can be produced at low cost," Chen said. "Complete telescope assemblies can be made this way, which is the team's main interest. For the CubeSat program, this capability will enable many spacecraft to be equipped with identical optics and different detectors for a variety of experiments. They [CubeSat] also can be flown in swarms and constellations."

Source: Phys.org, July 12, 2016 - NASA eyes first-ever carbon-nanotube mirrors for CubeSat telescope.

Uniform mirrors are a must and usually require polishing to obtain a desired thickness/uniformity. A swarm of satellites would allow them to link up and reconstruct a more detailed image. And since they specifically focused on using off-the-shelf components the over all costs are kept down. This is akin to having a really nice spotting scope before using the bigger (and more expensive) telescope(s). They still need more testing but this is pretty cool news! The article says due to graphene's ability to conduct electricity they can add actuators to the mix to focus the mirrors if need be.

A great way to use CNTs.

Well there have been a couple stories out there about graphene folding and unfolding 'like origami' which was a little before I started posting my updates. Here is a nice accidental discovery that may have a big impact on manufacturing once that is figured out.

Publishing their findings in Nature, Cross and Annett have shown that applied heat energy causes a flat graphene sheet to try to form its more familiar 3D graphite state.
...
Speaking of how the discovery occurred, the study’s co-author, Dr Annett, said: “I was investigating the properties of graphene as a kind of dry super-lubricant. One day I noticed that cut-out shapes that had been formed during my experiments were changing over time.
...
“Our discovery shows there exists a much richer potential for these kinds of two dimensional materials. We can make them behave like a self-animated sheet that folds, tears and slides while peeling itself away from a surface. Even better, we have figured out how to control the effect and make to it happen in different places in the sheet at the same time.”

Source: Siliconerepublic.co, July 14, 2016 - Irish researchers find way to produce self-assembling graphene.

So the headline is way misleading. I thought there was some method to make a graphene sheet make itself. Oh well. The ability to control cutting graphene is one of the major hurdles. So should they (whoever 'they' are) figure out how to make large sheets of graphene in a cost effective manner, then getting usable size sections will have to be known. And now it is!

Launched yesterday from the company’s [Dassi] headquarters in Hartley Wintney in Hampshire, the company’s [bike] frame weighs 750g, although it claims that this could be more than halved to just 350g at some point in the future.
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Is the frame made completely from graphene? Well, no. The frame contains just a minimum 1 per cent of the material, which is hooked together with an epoxy resin and later layered with one level of carbon-fibre.
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Dassi claims that it could be able to present a 350g frame, but there are issues with the layering process that need to be ironed out (the graphene sheets were narrower than expected and harder to work with) meaning that for now their frames [are] composed of six layers of graphene composite material on the inside, and one layer of carbon-fibre on the outside.

Source: CyclingWeekly.co.uk, New, July 14, 2016 - Graphene frames are coming, and they could weigh just 350g.

Another use in cycling (Vittoria G+ tires previously posted)! So we have G+ rims and tires, now a frame... one day could you wander into the bike shop and order a graphene bike that weighs next to nothing? Seems like that is where this is headed. Even the article goes to says Dassi plans on making "other [bike parts] such as stems, seatposts, and seatclamps" from their graphene-epoxy mixture (same source).

Price?

You can place a request online at Dassi’s website; The Road has got a price of £3,995 for just the frame and the fork and The TT a price of £3,750). The standard procedure is then to get an appointment at Dassi’s headquarters for a further bike fit and a tailored design. As Abbot says: “buying a Dassi is an experience”.

(same source)

An experience? And expensive! 4,000 pounds is about 5,330 US$. Still it is nice to see graphene products out there in the real world.

Yup, another three-for Thursday...

[Rice University's] Rice lab of chemist James Tour reported the creation of "rivet graphene," two-dimensional carbon that incorporates carbon nanotubes for strength and carbon spheres that encase iron nanoparticles, which enhance both the material's portability and its electronic properties.
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The rivets are layers of carbon wrapped around a 30-nanometer iron core, dubbed "nano-onions" by the lab. The structures are grown in place in the CVD furnace after the dispersal of nanotubes and deposition of graphene. A final step welds all the elements together, Tour said.

Rivet graphene is transparent enough for flexible and transparent electronics, he said, and the simplified process should be scalable.

Source: Phys.org, July 14, 2016, - 'Rivet graphene' proves its mettle: Toughened material is easier to handle, useful for electronics.

Now that is a strange idea! Wonder how they envision this being used. Normally, rivets join two items together. What two items are they going to join together that needs higher conductivity? I understand the CVD process of depositing graphene upon a surface but how do you "weld" all these parts together?

Seems I have more questions than answers! But that is alright because it just another reason to follow up on what is happening with 'rivet graphene'. Cool stuff... I think.

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF



Now that is a strange idea! Wonder how they envision this being used. Normally, rivets join two items together. What two items are they going to join together that needs higher conductivity? I understand the CVD process of depositing graphene upon a surface but how do you "weld" all these parts together?

Think it has something to do with the Chemical Bond and how covalent bonds can be artificially formed in Graphene between electron pairs.
I would guess the implicit properties of Graphene mean you can tinker with how electrons present themselves at certain sites in terms of Electronegativity giving a strong bond "weld"?


Set up google alerts 2.5 years ago to get all the metamaterial related stuff and the sheer volume of papers/articles has become overwhelming.. never seen a scientific area progress so quickly hence I'm surprised more people aren't interested in it on a conspiracy forum.

a reply to: Jukiodone

Thanks for the insight! Adding in another bond... still trying to figure out how that is done. Heat? I will figure it out one of these days.

Meta materials, I started with layering graphene with other 2D materials (Boron nitride, aka "white graphene") which is just the beginning. The "rivets" will probably come into play when doing stratified layers like SiO2, BN, stanene, graphane, and all they are going to make up (see the grapheme hydraulic press above? Just pour some material down and flatten it in between two sheet of graphene and create new 2D materials). This is a tough one to keep up on, let alone the meta materials. I mean they will be everywhere! Sound, light, radio waves, construction materials, aerospace, ships, probably terra-hertz communication, and that is just a few I can think of on the spot.

I like this topic because you can go from clothes, to planes, to pure science, to quantum computers, to bike frames, to batteries, etc.,... I can see this becoming ubiquitous in every day life. I guess most people will just shrug and buy their new North Face Graphene filled jacket just like any other product and never wonder where it came from.

And come to think of it, I haven't even tried keeping up on quantum dots! There is another use of graphene right there. I wish more people were interested in both subjects: meta-materials and graphene. This is the perfect spot to speculate on uses or what can/should be done with them.

Thanks for touching base! Gives me an incentive (like Dory) to just "keep on posting, keep on posting"

Speaking of wearing grapahene...

SweatSmart is a wearable sweat sensor from GraphWear, which uses a graphene sensor to monitor hydration during exercise.
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"Graphene has been around for over a decade, but right now it takes 23 steps to process a graphene sensor, that makes it difficult to manufacture, impossible to scale, and ridiculously expensive," Radhakrishnan said.

"I've worked in graphene processing and it's painful, but we've come up with a brand new way of making graphene devices in one step. We're getting sensitivity four times what's already out there and we can make it scaleable and cost effective.

"We have made a fully functioning alpha product for just $60,000. Down the line we are looking to get FDA approved for assisted living and patient monitoring. We want to get rid of the blood test."

Source: Wearable.com, wearable news, July 15, 2016 - GraphWear SweatSmart uses graphene to work out how you sweat.

Great, another device to guilt me into doing exercise! (lol) So this is coming out of Penn State as a start up. You can barely make a demo record for 60,000 nowadays! Congrats on figuring out the process and creating an alpha model on such a low budget. Looking at the photo, it has the typical 9-volt square connector on it. What this device does is monitor your blood sugar level (glucose) and warns your FitBit (or iWatch, or what ever) and tells you to down that gel-pack and some water (or Gatorade) to keep you on the level. Should help after exercising from lactic acid build up (it will recombine with glucose and be stored back in the liver). You strap it to the small of your back.

All thank to graphene!

[ETA: Hey, it has been while since I had a gym class so if I muffed the kick with lack or knowledge on the glucose cycle my apologies!]

Learned a new term today!

We had hints that putting graphene on a sheet of hexagonal boron nitride might make cleaner electronic devices, but we couldn’t get rid of these large wrinkles. We finally managed to cut them away, and when we cooled down the first wrinkle-free sample, we immediately saw a subtle effect of electronic correlations that had only been hinted at before.”

In the years since, Young and his collaborators determined how to integrate graphene and other atomically thin crystals into layered two-dimensional arrangements called van der Waals heterostructures.

As a result of that discovery, Young has been awarded the 2016 McMillan Award for outstanding contributions in condensed matter physics.

Source: Noozhawk, July 20, 2016 - Physicist Andrea Young Earns 2016 McMillan Award for Graphene Discovery.

So when layered or sandwiched, graphene, and the other substance, are known as "van der Waal heterostructure". I was just calling them layered graphene! Now I know better. The article explains that growing graphene is like Saran wrap when it overlaps itself you do not get the results you wanted. So this guy grew graphene on "white graphene" to keep away impurities. This is the moire pattern between the two and allows to check graphene for errors (folds). The article says that after a year Young and his team nearly gave up! Way to stick with it!

Congrats on the McMillan Award!