NASA got in touch with me. “Would I like to attend a briefing on a new graphene technology they had been working on?” The first thing I did was check up to make sure this was real. Yes it was the NASA Langley Research Center. So I joined a few others and listened attentively to what their scientists had to say about something they call holey graphene. Read on to find out more…

Dr Zina Cinker is doing something rather interesting in the world of graphene. She is the Executive Director of the National Graphene Association (NGA) based in Nashville, TN, USA. Read on to find out why this is important…

The China-based Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology has announced a new series of graphene LED ‘super lights’ at the 2017 International Graphene Innovation Conference. The new lights reportedly use graphene for heat dissipation and conduction.

Haydale has announced the first commercial sales of its products to Everpower Sheng Tie (Xiamen) Graphene Technology (“Everpower”). The sales are for a range of Haydale’s Silicon Carbide Fibres and 3D PLA masterbatch mixed with Haydale’s functionalized Graphene Nano Platelets (“Additive Manufacturing PLA” or “AM PLA”) for immediate delivery.

Finding a simple and effective strategy to eliminate tumor metastatic lymph nodes is highly desired in clinical tumor treatment. Herein, we reported a Chinese traditional ink (Hu-ink)-based treatment for photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumor metastatic lymph nodes. By simple dilution, stable Chinese traditional ink dispersion was obtained, which presents excellent photothermal effect because of its high absorption in near-infrared (NIR) region. Meanwhile, as revealed by staining and photoacoustic imaging, Hu-ink could transfer to nearby lymph nodes after directly injected into the primary tumors. Under the guidance of dual-modality mapping, the metastatic sentinel lymph nodes could be subsequently eliminated by NIR irradiation. The good biocompatibility of Hu-ink has also been verified by a series of experiments. Therefore, the Hu-ink-based treatment exhibits great potential for PTT of tumor metastatic lymph nodes in future clinical practice.

Video: Engineering Electronics with Graphene Printing.

Solar thermal collectors represent a simple and inexpensive way to make use of solar energy. Pure water is an efficient heat-transfer fluid, but it must be mixed with antifreeze to prevent damage to pipes during freezing conditions, and this lowers its performance. Now, researchers in Portugal have discovered that the addition of graphene to the working fluid helps to regain some of that lost efficiency.

An international group of researchers, including scientists from Shinshu University in Japan and Penn State’s ATOMIC Center, created a graphene and graphene oxide-based coating for desalination membranes which are said to be more scalable and sturdier than current nanofiltration membrane technologies available.

A powdery mix of metal nanocrystals wrapped in single-layer sheets of carbon atoms, developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), shows promise for safely storing hydrogen for use with fuel cells for passenger vehicles and other uses. And now, a new study provides insight into the atomic details of the crystals’ ultrathin coating and how it serves as selective shielding while enhancing their performance in hydrogen storage.

Graphene is a super-strong, ultra-lightweight material that’s led to scores of technological innovations in recent years. It consists of bonded carbon atoms formed into sheets that measure just one atom thick. The material’s strength to weight ratio makes it ideal for all sorts of applications ranging from desalination filters that produce clean drinking water to batteries that charge up in seconds, and even next-gen LED bulbs. Graphene is even being used to make solar cells produce electricity in the rain, leading us to believe the most amazing graphene-based gadgets have yet to come.