Transparent electronic and electro-optical (EO) devices have become an area of increasing interest in modern day technology research. Graphene’s excellent optical and electronic properties have made it an ideal material for research in such technologies and has become a material of considerable and continuous interest for transparent conductive electrodes in liquid crystal electro-optical devices.
Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of the stuff in pencils, is considered a better conductor than copper and is extremely promising for electronic devices however there is one catch: Electrons that pass through it cannot be stopped.
Although graphene’s unsurpassed strength as a material was made clear back in the 20th century, the construction industry still relies on traditional techniques and products for the most part.
Factories stand ready to launch wholesale production of graphene concrete and other building materials, but the market remains largely uninformed of their potential. If demand has yet to take off, perhaps it is because graphene still poses as many questions as answers. Researchers at NanoGraphene, Inc. finding themselves in the eye of Hurricane Irma, considered the question of how such enormous destruction could have been avoided.
Recent advances in single-molecule thermoelectricity has isolated and identified different families of high-performance molecules. However, to realize the commercial potential of these molecules and convert them into real-world thin-film energy-harvesting devices, fundamental issues surrounding parallel-aligned junctions within these devices need to be addressed.
Sebastian Leaper on how he’s making clean drinking water more accessible using graphene.
Demand for higher bandwidth has led to research on unexplored frequency spectrums, such as the terahertz-band for 5G. The first flexible graphene-based terahertz detector will enable new applications in sensing and Internet of Things. The unique electronic properties of graphene, combined with its flexible nature and ease of deposition makes it a promising material to integrate electronics into plastics and fabrics, which will be the building blocks of a future truly interconnected world.