Graphene

For a few years now, Inov-8 has been focusing in on graphene for its trail running shoes. Now it mixes a little nitrogen into the formula. The nitrogen-injected foam adds a light, soft ride and a response so reactive it almost feels like cheating.

Discarded electronics can be a gold mine – literally. Researchers have developed an efficient new way to use graphene to recover gold from electronic waste, without needing any other chemicals or energy.

There's nothing like nestling down in your own private, comfy tent when camping in the wilderness. Well, the Crocoon is designed to bring that same snuggly vibe to people's homes, local parks, or even their beds.

Engineers at the University of Vienna have developed a new composite material that makes an efficient filter for removing organic pollutants from water. The system uses super-porous “nano-sponges” embedded on a sheet of graphene.

We need to get creative with recycling. In a new study, researchers at Rice University and Ford’s Research and Innovation Center have demonstrated how waste plastic from old cars could be used to make graphene foam that can then be used in new cars.

It’s an unfortunate truth that many important chemical reactions require rare and expensive metals as catalysts. But now, scientists have developed a device that actively tweaks plain old aluminum to make it behave like other metals on the fly.

Indium is one of the rarest metals on Earth, but it’s a key ingredient in ubiquitous electronic devices. Engineers have demonstrated a way to swap indium for graphene, which is made from common carbon, while retaining the same electronic properties.

A couple of years ago, Canadian scientists celebrated the Christmas season by creating a microscopic gingerbread house. In that same spirit, Danish researchers have now produced the world's thinnest Christmas tree – and it's made of graphene.

An experimental new material could help rehabilitate the injured and allow the nonspeaking to "speak," among other potential uses. It's also highly elastic, electrically conductive and self-healing – and it's known as CareGum.

Norda's new 001 G+ Spike trail running shoe keeps feet dry and warm through snow, slush and icy puddles with a graphene membrane. Combine that with Dyneema up top and spikes down low, and you have a high-tech running shoe that thrives in winter.

Even with the toughest-looking bike locks, many people still say, "An angle grinder would go right through that." Well, Hiplok's new D1000 is claimed to be different – it's touted as being "the first portable anti-angle-grinder bike lock."

A first-of-a-kind trial now underway seeks to apply the wonder material graphene's impressive attributes to one of the UK's major thoroughfares, by deploying it in a road resurfacing project along a stretch of the A1.