Graphene is a single layer of graphite — also known as that soft material commonly found in pencil lead — with the atoms arranged in a honeycomb-like, hexagonal pattern. While that description is decidedly unexciting, graphene is actually emerging as one of science’s most versatile new materials.
Graphene, the 2D wonder material made up of a sheet of carbon one atom thick, has a long list of superpowers, but one thing it hasn’t been great at is absorbing light. Now, a study from the University of Central Florida (UCF) has found a way to boost graphene’s light absorption, allowing it to make better use of that energy.
In early October 2017 the Graphene-info posted about Nanotech Engineering’s novel graphene-enhanced solar panel, a post that raised many eyebrows. Nanotech says that their graphene panel reaches a 92% efficiency (compared to around 20% for large commercial silicon-based PV panels), and the cost per Watt of their panel will be 0.55 cents (compared to a US average of $3.26 for silicon PV panels).
A group of researchers from China has discovered a scalable, safe and green method to synthesize graphene oxide using water electrolytic oxidation of graphite. The details of their method were published in Nature Communications earlier this month.
Researchers at The University of Central Florida have come up with a finding that enables graphene to better absorb light and showed more than 45% absorption of light in a single layer of graphene. This may open the door to graphene-enhanced applications that require the incident light to be fully utilized, like next-generation light detectors, touchscreens, and more.
Scientists at the UK’s University of Sunderland are leading Task 10.11 – Composites for Automotive, part of the European Commission’s Future and Emerging Technology Flagship. The project is exploring how graphene could be used to create lighter, stronger, safer and more energy-efficient applications and parts for the automotive market.
Canada-based Graphene Innovation & Technologies (GIT) has recently announced been its participation in a Nova Scotia Business (NSBI) Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program with Centre for Water Resource Studies at Dalhousie University. The program will facilitate comprehensive research into using multilayer graphene in protective coatings for marine-based applications.
The audio field has been experiencing a major graphene boom recently. In addition to various existing headphones and earbuds, a graphene contact enhancer is now on the market. A new-Zealand based company called Mad Scientist Audio is selling its Graphene Contact Enhancer (GCE) that can be used on any metal-to-metal contacts, such as RCA plugs and sockets, loudspeaker leads, fuses, and so on.
Researchers are the first to observe the electronic structure of graphene in an engineered semiconductor; finding could lead to progress in advanced optoelectronics and data processing.
A new breakthrough in the use of graphene may lead the textile industry to start producing electronic clothing. Recently, scientists at the University of Manchester have begun to chip away at the central problem of electronic clothing with a new graphene layering technique. The project has compelling results, and it could help fuel the fire for the rise of e-textiles.