Graphene

Computers

High-density hard drive packed with graphene stores 10 times the data

By leveraging the wonder material graphene, a group at the University of Cambridge is claiming an advance in data storage that resembles more of a leap than a step forward. The team says the technology enables a ten-fold increase in data density.

University of Manchester researchers Craig Dawson, Happiness Ijije and Lisa Scullion onsite as workers tend to the world's first graphene-enhanced concrete slab in the background

Materials

World's first graphene-enhanced concrete slab poured in England

Recent research projects have demonstrated how the wonder material graphene could play a role in stronger, more eco-friendly concrete, and now we're seeing the first real-world deployment of the technology in the foundations of a new gym in the UK.

Composite image depicting the network of carbon atoms making up biphenylene as a schematic above, combined with high-resolution microscopy images of the material below

Materials

Entirely new form of carbon follows the lead of graphene

Researchers in Europe have developed an entirely new form of carbon, one that bears similarities to the wonder material graphene but with some useful differences that could open up new possibilities in electronics and advanced lithium batteries.

Researchers have created graphene electronic devices that are both insulators and superconductors at the same time, in different parts of the material

Electronics

Magic angle makes graphene simultaneously superconducting and insulating

Graphene just keeps getting weirder. Engineers at ETH Zurich have now managed to tweak the overachieving material so that some parts of a flake can be an electrical insulator while other areas act as a superconductor, just nanometers apart.

An illustration depicting the 3D printing process (left) and the finished graphene aerogel filter (right)

Materials

3D-printed graphene aerogel makes efficient, scalable water filter

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a new method for 3D printing graphene aerogels that work well as water filters. The team says this technique helps make graphene aerogels scalable and stable enough to be used over and over.

Researchers have found a new way to convert old tires into graphene and then use it to reinforce concrete

Materials

Graphene made from old tires helps strengthen concrete

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new process to convert old tires into graphene, which can then be used to make concrete. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but the team says the resulting concrete is substantially stronger.

The Trailfly Ultra G 300 Max shoes are targeted at ultramarathon and long-distance runners

Sports

Graphene-enhanced long-distance running shoes last twice as many miles

Graphene is featuring more and more heavily in footwear firm inov-8's catalog, this time around as part of foam cushioning in trail running shoes that is claimed to last twice as long as the industry standard.

The experimental setup involved a magnet (white rectangle) placed on top of a sheet of graphene (dotted lines), and surrounded by eight electrodes to measure changes in the material's conductivity

Materials

Artificial magnetic texture induced in graphene could boost spintronics

Graphene has a lot of useful properties, but magnetism isn’t usually one of them. Now, researchers have managed to induce an “artificial magnetic texture” in graphene, which could have major implications for the emerging field of spintronics.

Structural kinks, seen as white lines, modify the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene strips to turn them into tiny microchips

Materials

Adding kinks to graphene strips creates the world's tiniest microchip

By making alterations to the underlying structure of the wonder material graphene, scientists at the University of Sussex have extended its capabilities even further to create the tiniest microchips yet.

Scientists have come up with a new take on graphene water filters, which they hope could be used in household settings, among other uses

Materials

Wrinkled graphene sheets offer a shortcut for water purification

Scientists at Brown University have demonstrated a promising new water purification technology that takes advantage of the tiny gaps in stacked sheets of graphene to filter out contaminants with great efficiency.

By working small perforations into tiny balloons made of graphene, scientists have developed a new type of sensor to detect noble gases

Materials

Deflating graphene balloons act as sensors for hard-to-detect gases

Scientists have fashioned graphene into microscopic balloons they say can distinguish between different kinds of noble gases, by measuring how long the gas takes to escape through tiny perforations in the surface of the balloons.

A new study has demonstrated how a tractor beam containing trapped graphene microparticles could one day redirect lightning strikes

Physics

Graphene tractor beams could one day redirect lightning strikes

Lightning is a major trigger for wildfires, like the record-breaking blazes that devastated Australia and California this year. But what if we could redirect lightning to strike safely? Graphene particles trapped in a tractor beam could do just that.