The Graphene-Info newsletter (April 26, 2022)

Directa Plus has announced the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with a leading worldwide supplier of automotive interiors to Tier 1 manufacturers to develop new products using its graphene plus technology.

The products will be based on the antimicrobial properties (antibacterial and antiviral), thermal comfort and electrical conductivity properties of Directa Plus’ G+ enhanced fabrics, according to the company's statements.

Purafy Clean Technologies, a company (linked to Grafoid) that provides advanced solutions to the world's water challenges, has announced that it is collaborating with teams at both St. Lawrence College and Queen's University on a project that includes of both applied- and academic-level research and development for a made-in-Canada greywater recycling technology.

The multi-dimensional research and development project is set to last at least three years, with funding support in place from both federal and provincial government channels. The greywater recycling system will be installed at Kate's Rest Foundation, a property that provides permanent housing geared towards people who were once homeless or were at risk of homelessness in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

The past couple of years were very good for public graphene companies, many of which saw their share prices spike. This was partly due to a general positive market trend and also due to maturity in the graphene industry and actual commercialization of graphene-enhanced materials and devices.

Since the beginning of 2022, however, the share price of most of the companies we track dropped - in some cases by over 30%. The chart above shows some of the most prominent companies.

In a joint project, 2D fab is developing renewable adhesives for wood panels and packaging. The project will run from April 2022 to September 2024.

Adhesives with graphene have the potential to improve productivity and properties, which allows them to replace fossil-based adhesives. 2D fab aims to harness the potential of graphene to develop renewable adhesives for packaging, straws, and wood panels for furniture. In this project, starch and cellulose-based adhesives containing graphene will be used to develop demonstrators.

A team of researchers from TU Delft, led by dr. Farbod Alijani, recently managed to capture the low-level noise of a single bacterium using graphene.

Being able to pick up on the miniscule sounds of bacteria can help track if an antibiotics is working, or if the bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic. Alijani's team was originally looking into the fundamentals of the mechanics of graphene, but at a certain point they wondered what would happen if it comes into contact with a single biological object.

A research team led by the University of Michigan has developed a reliable, scalable method for growing single layers of hexagonal boron nitride on graphene.

Graphene-hBN structures can power LEDs that generate deep-UV light, which is impossible in today's LEDs, said Zetian Mi, U-M professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a corresponding author of the study. Deep-UV LEDs could drive smaller size and greater efficiency in a variety of devices including lasers and air purifiers.

PolyJoule, a spin-off of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), recently unveiled a new battery technology based on its own proprietary conductive polymers and other organic, non-metallic materials.

The battery cells were reportedly tested to perform for 12,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge. The device is based on a standard, two-electrode electrochemical cell containing the conductive polymers, a carbon-graphene hybrid, and a non-flammable liquid electrolyte. Alternating anodes and cathodes are interwoven and then connected in parallel to form a cell.