Graphene

Graphene is already known for being incredibly strong, so how can it be made even stronger? By turning it into sheets of diamond, of course. Researchers in South Korea have developed a new method to convert graphene into ultrathin diamond films.

A new solar-powered catalyst made of graphene and titanium dioxide nanoparticles can pluck pollutants out of the air, much more efficiently than others. The catalyst could be coated onto building or street surfaces to improve air quality in cities.

Devices such as digital cameras electronically measure levels of high-energy light, and that's good enough for most of us. Now, however, scientists have developed a mechanical alternative that works with almost all types of light.

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new air filter made of graphene foam, which can kill captured microbes with small zaps of electricity.

Stanford University engineers have developed an ultra-thin heat shield for electronic devices that measures just 10 atoms thick.

Scientists are getting good results at repelling mosquitoes using graphene.

Since electronics are always shrinking, engineers need to find ways to make smaller components too. Now, scientists from the University of Leeds have managed to make the thinnest gold ever created, measuring just two atoms thick. That makes it functionally two-dimensional, joining graphene.

A team from Stanford has shown that graphene arranged in a specific way can generate a magnetic field. That’s surprising enough, but it turns out this particular form of magnetism has previously only been theorized.

​Fans of the Mission Impossible movies may recall the agents' use of a slim, throat-mounted device that changes the user's voice. Well, Chinese scientists have now developed something similar, that could one day allow the mute to speak … in a manner of speaking.

Graphene is incredibly thin, flexible, strong and electrically conductive, but it’s tricky to manufacture on large scales. Now researchers at the University of Rochester have recruited bacteria to make the stuff, which is cheaper and faster than current methods and doesn’t require harsh chemicals.

It's not enough to just reduce our carbon dioxide emissions now – we need to remove some of what’s already in the atmosphere. Now, researchers at KIT have developed a simple way to turn the troublesome gas into a useful resource: by converting it into the “wonder” material graphene.

​The wonderful potential of graphene has been well covered on our pages. One thing missing has been a cost-effective way to produce the wonder material, but a team of researchers now believe they may have discovered a key to this hiding in the bark of Australian eucalyptus trees.