Two novel 2D materials, graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, and the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope – these were the ingredients used to create a novel kind of a so-called “quantum dot”. These extremely small nanostructures allow delicate control of individual electrons by fine-tuning their energy levels directly. Such devices can be key for modern quantum technologies.
Graphene holds promise in a wide range of industries, including the energy, medical, aviation, and electronic sectors, due to its unique electrical, mechanical, and optical properties. Understanding the processes that drive separation of graphite into single graphene sheets is crucial for large-scale application.
The article reports on the fabrication of a NO2 gas sensor from room-temperature reduction of graphene oxide(GO) via two-beam-laser interference (TBLI). The method of TBLI gives the distribution of periodic dissociation energies for oxygen functional groups, which are capable to reduce the graphene oxide to hierarchical graphene nanostructures, which holds great promise for gaseous molecular adsorption.
Clean technology such as solar has an obvious problem. As long as the sun shines we can have power, but what happens at night? The answer is some kind of energy storage during the day that can release power whenever we need it. It looks like graphene may be solving this problem too…
Two novel materials, each composed of a single atomic layer and the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, are the ingredients for a novel kind of quantum dot. These extremely small nanostructures allow delicate control of individual electrons by fine-tuning their energy levels directly. Such devices are key for modern quantum technologies.
Researchers at Zhejiang University in China have designed a new type of aerogels, made of graphene and carbon nanotubes, that can be reversibly stretched to more than three times their original length, displaying elasticity similar to that of a rubber band. This stretchability, in addition to aerogels’ existing properties like ultralow density, light weight, high porosity, and high conductivity, may lead to exciting new applications.
Lithium-metal batteries — which can hold up to 10 times more charge than the lithium-ion batteries that currently power our phones, laptops and cars — haven’t been commercialized because of a fatal flaw: as these batteries charge and discharge, lithium is deposited unevenly on the electrodes. This buildup cuts the lives of these batteries too short to make them viable, and more importantly, can cause the batteries to short-circuit and catch fire.
Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a hair dye based on graphene oxide that “does not include toxic compounds commonly used in hair dyes”. As an added bonus, graphene-colored hair enjoys much less electrostatic frizz. Due to graphene’s thermal conductivity, the dye may even help dissipate heat on hot days. The team has filed a provisional patent for the color.
At this year’s SID DisplayWeek trade show, ETRI researchers will demonstrate a flexible OLED panel that use a transparent graphene electrode. The researchers developed a “fully operational” 40×40 mm OLED panel that uses a pixelated graphene film as electrodes.
Researchers at UNSW have developed a graphene-based, laboratory-scale filter that can remove more than 99% of the natural organic matter left behind during conventional treatment of drinking water. In a research collaboration with Sydney Water, the team has demonstrated the success of the approach in laboratory tests on filtered water from the Nepean Water Filtration Plant in western Sydney, and is working to scale up the new technology.