The China-based Shanghai Kyorene New Material Technology recently unveiled a graphene-based flame-retardant fabric during the Textile & Yarn Expo in Shanghai. The fabric seems to be extremely resistant to flames, and no damage appears even when it is directly touched with a burning lighter. It is also said to posses anti ultra-violet and anti-static properties. It can be used for firefighting purposes as well as furniture and other domestic uses.
The world’s first ISO (International Organisation for Standardization) graphene standard has been published. The standard will provide consistency across the emerging world-wide graphene industry and accelerate the 2D material’s commercial exploitation.
The new international standard, led by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), defines the terminology used to describe the many different forms of graphene and related 2D materials, supporting companies in the testing and validation of the ‘wonder material’. This will provide clarity among manufacturers, suppliers, NGOs and academia, helping to unlock new applications, drive down manufacturing costs and open up industrial-scale use of graphene for applications from next-generation computer chips to smart sensors in clothing.
An international research team at Swansea University in the UK recently received an international award for developing a graphene biosensor-based diagnostic test for ovarian cancer that is said to offer quicker and more accurate results in a less expensive, as well as portable way.
The team received the i3S-Hovione Capital Health Innovation Prize, an international award aimed at distinguishing innovative ideas in the health sector, for developing a device — called ‘MagCyte’ — that can diagnose ovarian cancer in a couple of minutes using only a single drop of blood. The portable technology is different from the tests currently used in hospitals and allows for increased flexibility when monitoring patients, even if they have already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. According to the development team, the innovative technology allows for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer up to four years before it can be diagnosed through the technology currently available.
ICN2 group leader ICREA Prof. Jose Antonio Garrido and fellow Graphene Flagship programme coordinator, Prof. Kostas Kostarelos of the University of Manchester, were invited by Advanced Materials to present their vision of the role of graphene in the design of advanced brain-computer interfaces. Published earlier this month, the work entitled “Graphene in the design and engineering of next-generation neural interfaces” outlines the current state-of-the-art in this field, along with the ways graphene is allowing us to overcome some of the obstacles to fully realising the next generation of neural interfaces.
Personal thermal management (PTM) devices provide the potential to adjust body temperature to a thermally safe and comfortable state. Essential elements of a successful PTM device are that they are lightweight, flexible, breathable and as safe as normal clothing for human skin. However, most current PTM systems are made from types of conductive materials, such as Ag nanowires, carbon nanotube and graphene, and feature elements which allow for the insulation or release of human body infrared (IR) radiation, providing a heating or cooling effect respectively. The greatest limitations of these materials is that they do not allow for warming and cooling within one textile and the antioxidation status of metallic nanowires deteriorates with decreased dimension as a result of high surface-area.
China-based manufacturer CKCOM has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for Alien Earbuds, offering an affordable but high quality alternative to more expensive true wireless earbuds on the market. Alien earbuds feature graphene-enhanced drivers, 4.5-hour playtime, built-in mic for hands-free calling, and multi-touch button for important gestures, and more. The campaign has already reached $15,498 USD at the time of writing, which stand for 77% of the $20,000 (flexible) goal, with a month left to go.
Nacre, also known as “nature’s armour”, is made up of a brick-and-mortar architecture in which hard bricks of aragonite are sandwiched together with soft biopolymer layers (the mortar). Now, a team at the University of Virginia in the US has made composites from graphene and aluminium that have the same type of structure as nacre’s but which have an even higher strength and toughness. Compared with aluminium on its own, the new bioinspired composite has a 210% improved hardness, 223% improved strength and 78% improved stiffness. It might find use in applications such as vehicles (cars, planes and trains), in which lower weight is important, as well as in next-generation electronics devices that call for strong, stiff and tough components that conduct heat well.
Rocco Gaudenzi talks about the challenges involved in taking a complex project from concept to completion.
Nanostructured materials have emerged as an alternative to enhance the figure of merit (ZT) of thermoelectric (TE) devices. Graphene exhibits a high electrical conductivity (in-plane) that is necessary for a high ZT; however, this effect is countered by its impressive thermal conductivity.
Lightweight open-cell foams that are simultaneously superelastic, possess exceptionally high Young’s moduli (Y), exhibit ultrahigh efficiency, and resist fatigue as well as creep are particularly desirable as structural frameworks.