The Graphene-Info newsletter, July 2017
Published: Wed, 08/02/17
Researchers produce robust graphene-based catalyst to split water into hydrogen and oxygen
Scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston have developed a catalyst that can simplify the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen to produce clean energy. The electrolytic film is a three-layer structure of nickel, graphene and a compound of iron, manganese and phosphorus. The foamy nickel gives the film a large surface, the conductive graphene protects the nickel from degrading and the metal phosphide carries out the reaction.
The film was developed to overcome barriers that usually make a catalyst good for producing either oxygen or hydrogen, but not both simultaneously - as is often the case with regular metals. The team explained that normally, a hydrogen evolution reaction is done in acid and an oxygen evolution reaction is done in base. This work produced one material that is stable whether it's in an acidic or basic solution. In addition, the team used rather common materials in lieu of the usually-required platinum and other costly materials.
The new catalyst also requires less energy, the team said. The overpotential (the amount of energy required to trigger electrocatalysis) is small, and quite competitive with other materials. The lower it is, the closer you come to making it as efficient as possible for water splitting.
Graphene-based tags will assist in the war against counterfeiting
Researchers at Lancaster University’s tech startup Quantum Base are working on a graphene-based identity tag that can be scanned using a smartphone, to provide a possible solution to the fake goods problem that is causing worldwide financial damage on a grand scale.
The researchers have designed a tag that can be verified by the end user using a smartphone. While other authenticity identifiers exist, like holograms, security inks and chemical or physical markers, this new system relies on graphene to make it unique. The team explains that the 2D nature of graphene means that even the tiniest imperfections, caused by the smallest of changes in the structure of an atom, can be identified. It also makes replicating the tag hard for fraudsters, if not impossible. The patented technology is expected to be available to the public next year.
Zolo’s successful crowdfunding campaign for graphene-enhanced earphones
Anker’s audio brand, Zolo, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its Liberty+, a pair of graphene-enhanced fully wireless earphones. The campaign has already surpassed $600,000 at the time of writing, charging past its $50,000 goal with a over 30 days left to go. An update from July 31 shows the campaign managed to secure a staggering $2,804,475.
The use of “graphene-augmented drivers” for the Liberty+ is interesting, and could theoretically yield excellent audio quality. In addition the the graphene boost, the Liberty will also include an AI assistant integration to control your music playback through voice commands, as well as provide information on weather, news alerts, traffic updates, and more. Zolo says they’ll be compatible with Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana. Some other features are intriguing, like its battery life and connectivity.
A Graphene-MoS2 combination could assist in efficient splitting of water to create 'green' energy
Researchers from Florida State University, Penn State University, Tsinghua University in China and the Institute of Carbon Science and Technology in Japan have come to fascinating conclusions on how to produce pure hydrogen, a green energy fuel by splitting water.
After experimenting with ways to use the compound molybdenum disulfide to split water, the team realized that the compound’s protons did not overlap well with that of hydrogen. They ultimately determined that the best way to split the hydrogen was to create an alloy with the molybdenum disulfide. They created a thin film with alternating graphene and tungsten-molybdenum layers.
According to the team, this created a much more efficient process and lowered the electrical voltage required to split the water from 200 millivolts with pure molybdenum disulfide to 96 millivolts. “This has the promise of being as good as platinum,” the researchers said.
NanoXplore plans a 10,000 ton graphene powder facility
Group NanoXplore has recently announced plans to become a public company, with a business strategy of acquiring companies in order to introduce graphene to the products. NanoXplore says it is on track to offer graphene at $10/kg. We recently discussed this goal with the company’s CEO, Dr. Soroush Nazarpour.
Graphene-Info's updated market reports
New versions of all our graphene market reports have been released! Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about these markets. The reports are now updated to July 2017.
Our market reports come with one year of free upgrades. If you bought your report within the year, contact us to get your new edition. Older customers are entitled to an upgrade discount.
Graphenea announced the opening of a new graphene oxide (GO) pilot plant with 1 tonne per annum production capacity.
Zenyatta Ventures recently formed a wholly owned European subsidiary company named ZEN-tech Materials to focus on the development and commercialization activities of graphene applications and the allocation of any associated intellectual property and worldwide licensing.
Innovate UK's (London, UK) Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) has launched a Graphene Special Interest Group that is focused, in part, on commercialization of graphene in composite materials applications.
Researchers at the India Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, have developed a new graphene, silver and pyyrole nanocomposite material suitable for making supercapacitors.
Talga Resources has announced the execution of a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Heidelberg Cement.
Researchers from Tsinghua University in China have developed a user-interactive electronic skin, capable of changing color using flexible electronics made from graphene.
A team of researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed graphene-based sensors which can be sprayed directly onto flat or curved surfaces that can be networked to extract rich real-time information on the health status of the structure being monitored.
The Graphene Flagship announced preparations for two new experiments in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), to test the viability of graphene for space applications.
Researchers from Tsinghua University in China have designed a low-cost energy storage device using a TiO2-assisted UV reduction of sandwiched graphene components.
Rice University scientists have attached ruthenium atoms to graphene to create a durable catalyst for high-performance fuel cells.
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