Graphene-Info newsletter

Dassi unveils graphene-enhanced bike

British-based Dassi Bikes unveiled what they referred to as "the world’s first bike made with graphene" at their headquarters in Hampshire.

Dassi is currently focusing on a single road frame & TT frame design. The Dassi bike frame is said to contain 1% graphene throughout six layers underneath the carbon surface layer. The frame weighs just 750g and engineers predict that sub 400g frames could be achievable.

Dongxu unveils an impressive graphene-enhanced battery

Dongxu Optoelectronic Technology recently unveiled a graphene battery in Beijing, called G-King. The report out of China does not reveal how close the G-King battery is to mass production. It might be close, considering the stage show the company pulled off - and if so, it may be the world's first graphene battery.

The demonstrated graphene battery has a capacity of 4,800mAh, which is a typical capacity of laptop battery. The company showed the G-King's super-fast charging time. It only takes 13 to 15 minutes compared to several hours a conventional Lithium-Ion battery needs. That's 10 to 20 times faster. Dongxu Optoelectronic Technology says that the G-King graphene battery supports 3,500 charge and discharge cycles - around 7 times higher than Li-Ion batteries.

Graphene-enhanced aircraft prototype to be unveiled

Scientists at Manchester University are working towards developing a new graphene-coated aeroplane. They believe it will allow planes to fly higher, use less fuel and even protect them from lighting strikes. To test these ideas, the scientists have been working with aviation experts at Preston’s University of Central Lancashire and have create a drone-sized prototype.

The 3m wide unmanned aircraft, which is covered with graphene, is nicknamed Prospero. The aircraft will show off the remarkable properties of graphene - and potentially pave the way for it becoming commonly used in commercial aircraft. According to aviation specialists, the ultra-conductive covering could prevent a plane’s wings from overheating - as well as protecting it from potential damage caused by lightning storms.

The research team is still in the early stages of flight testing with the new remotely piloted aircraft but initial test data is said to be very encouraging. In terms of impact resistance the new wing is showing increased levels of impact resistance of up to 60% over a conventionally-skinned carbon fibre wing.

Experts roundup: will CVD ever be a viable commercial way to produce graphene?

Graphene-Info is happy to introduce a new feature: Experts Roundup. We asked several graphene professionals to answer a graphene related question. We hope this will prove to be an interesting read and can help shed light on the nooks and cranks of the graphene industry. Enjoy!

Do you think CVD will ever be a viable way to mass produce commercial graphene sheets?

Gonçalo Gonçalves, product marketing specialist, Aixtron: Chemical vapour deposition has been used for several decades in the semiconductor industry to deposit high-quality thin-films. This technique is known to provide superior process reliability and throughput which are key requirements in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. Since 2004, graphene has….

To read more, click here.

A graphene-enhanced vehicle unveiled in Manchester

A vehicle made with graphene in its bodywork has recently been unveiled in Manchester. The car was made by Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) and graphene is said to be used in the car's panels. The BAC Mono spearheads an exhibition to highlight the future of graphene technology.

The BAC Mono has reportedly been road-tested and is being displayed at the National Graphene Institute in Manchester as part of the Science in the City festival from July 22-29. James Baker, graphene business director at The University of Manchester, said: "The graphene car is an excellent example of how graphene can be incorporated into existing products to improve performance".

Skeleton Technologies and Flying Whales collaborate to develop large capacity aircraft with graphene-based supercapacitors

A new European partnership will aim to ensure that graphene supercapacitor technology powers the next generation of large, heavy-lift airships for industrial applications in China and France. Skeleton Technologies will join French firm Flying Whales’ programme to build a 60-ton Large Capacity Airship, or LCA60T, for the global transport market.

Skeleton Technologies will join the programme to help design and build hybrid propulsion for the LCA60T’s electric power systems. Average operational power is expected to be approximately 1.5 MW with the company’s graphene-based supercapacitors assisting to cover the additional 2 MW peaks for hovering, lifting and stabilization in reasonable and turbulent environments.

The main advantage of the LCA60T will be its ability to transport heavy and over-sized cargo of up to 60 tons either in its 75m-long hold or underslung, at speeds of 100 km/h, with a range of several thousand kilometers per day. The helium-filled, rigid-structure airship will be capable of winching to pick up and unload cargo while hovering, at a fraction of the cost of a heavy-lift helicopter, and for much heavier loads. Without the need to make conventional takeoffs and landings, energy consumption via its hybrid electric propulsion system will be low.

Graphene-Info reports - now updated to July 2016

Graphene-Info's Batteries, Lighting, Displays and Graphene Investments Market Reports are now updated to July 2016. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about these niche markets.

For more information, click here.

The EU-funded GOSFEL project (Graphene on Silicon Free Electron Laser), demonstrated a new type of compact laser source, which exploits graphene to create a solid-state free electron laser.

A trade deal between China and Manchester will aim at graphene-based transportation. Scientists at Manchester University will team up with the Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials in a five-year research project that will aim to build graphene-based aircraft and trains.

A graphene-enhanced mobile pack was reportedly developed by Chinese mobile network carrier China Telecom, and unveiled in a recent trade show in Guangzhou.

Thomas Swan announced a unique partnership with the National Graphene Institute (NGI) to provide development materials to boost graphene research and commercialization while also increasing early stage research on other 2D materials.

Researchers at A*STAR have designed a low-cost, stable and ultrafast graphene oxide-based responsive humidity sensor that is said to be easy to manufacture, overcoming the challenge of producing a simple, fast and highly sensitive version.

Versarien has raised £1.1 million from existing investors. The funds will be used to finance an acquisition that was set in motion a few months ago, of two companies where graphene inclusion would provide significant product and market benefits.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have used rod-shaped bacteria - precisely aligned in an electric field, then vacuum-shrunk under a graphene sheet - to cause nanoscale ripples in the material, causing it to conduct electrons differently in perpendicular directions. The resulting material can be applied to a silicon chip and may led to various applications in electronics and nanotechnology.

Researchers at Washington University have managed to use graphene oxide sheets to create a biofoam that can transform dirty water into drinking water. Their hope is that in countries where there is a lot of sunlight, it'll be possible to take dirty water, evaporate it using this material, and collect fresh water.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new type of packaging that uses a single layer of graphene to protect packaged goods from moisture. The newly developed material is capable of preventing water molecules from entering packaged products, like electronics and medicines.

A team of Korean researchers recently conducted an inhalation toxicology study of graphene, as much questions have been raised on graphene's potential health and safety risks. The results show no distinct lung pathology was observed at the 1-, 28- and 90-day post-exposure and low toxicity.

Researchers from KAUST have found that graphene quantum dots could expand the usable spectral region of light in silicon solar cells to boost their efficiency and provide a more cost-effective way for energy production.

A team of researchers from Boise State University have conducted a study that focuses on demonstrating the suitability of graphene foam (3D version of graphene) as a scaffold for growing functional muscle tissue. In the future, researchers hope that the unique properties of graphene and graphene foam can be used to regenerate 3-dimensional tissues and organs for implantation into the human body.