graphene

MIT physicists have found a new way to switch superconductivity on and off in magic-angle graphene. This figure shows a device with two graphene layers in the middle (in dark gray and in inset). The graphene layers are sandwiched in between boron nitride layers (in blue and purple). The angle and alignment of each layer enables the researchers to turn superconductivity on and off in graphene with a short electric pulse. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers. Edited by MIT NewsApplying a quick electric pulse completely flips…

Surprisingly, the friction between the tip of an atomic force microscope and the Moiré superstructures depends on the speed at which the tip is moved across the surface. Credit: Department of Physics, University of Basel and ScixelResearchers from Basel and Tel Aviv discovered that friction varies with speed in specific <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>graphene</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Graphene is an…

Concrete has been described as the most destructive material on Earth. After water, it’s the most used substance in the world, with twice the usage of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined. To manufacture all this concrete, more than 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. According to the Chatham House think tank, that creates around 8% of all CO2 emissions — more than what’s caused by all the trucks across the globe. Cement makers urgently need to reduce this footprint.…

A new study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology has found that the nanomaterial graphene oxide, which is used in a variety of applications including electronics and biomolecule sensors, can indirectly impact the immune system through the gut microbiome in zebrafish.The nanomaterial <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>graphene</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a…

In the spring of 2010, physicist Jari Kinaret received an email from the European Commission. The EU’s executive arm was seeking pitches from scientists for ambitious new megaprojects. Known as flagships, the initiatives would focus on innovations that could transform Europe’s scientific and industrial landscape.  Kinaret, a professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, examined the initial proposals. “I was not very impressed,” the 60-year-old tells TNW. “I thought they could find…

The chips found in the best CPUs and GPUs on the market currently are all made out of silicon, but scientists are aware of their limitations. In order to keep scaling up the performance without damaging power efficiency, a lot of research goes into finding a replacement for silicon. One such option might be graphene, which could potentially offer 10 times the performance of silicon while maintaining low power consumption. However, there’s a problem — it’s really expensive to make. Wccftech As reported by Wccftech,…

Graphene’s spec sheet reads like a superhero’s profile. Two hundred times stronger than steel, a million times thinner than a human hair, and a thousand times more conductive than copper, it’s no surprise the substance is called a “wonder material.”  When the sheet of carbon was first isolated in 2004 at Manchester University, the breakthrough rocked the scientific world. Countless applications for the “miracle substance” were envisioned, from storing solar power to stitching batteries into…

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.Beyond its superficial uses in jewelry, gold is prized for use in electronic components thanks to its high electrical conductivity and ease to work with. But electronic devices have a high turnover, and recovering gold and other precious metals is a process that’s often fiddly, inefficient, and requires chemicals or high…

Engineers at Caltech observed an unusual phenomenon in twisted trilayer graphene.So-called “magic-angle twisted <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>graphene</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It is the basic structural element of other allotropes of carbon, including…

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.The key to the new filters is a class of material called covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These structures are extremely porous, giving them a massive surface area contained within a small space, which means they’re effective at grabbing onto large amounts of molecules. Related materials known…