The Graphene-Info newsletter (April 23, 2024)

Premier Graphene, a global advanced materials company with a focus on research, production and marketing of eco-friendly graphene, has announced achievements in the integration of graphene with construction materials.  

According to the Company, recent in-house studies have showcased the high quality of graphene-enhanced hydraulic concrete. The findings reportedly point to an unparalleled improvement in the cement’s performance, leading to products of superior quality concrete. This graphene-infused cement exhibits enhanced resistance and strength, alongside quicker drying times, which collectively contribute to considerable cost savings on large-scale construction projects.

Researchers from the University of Göttingen, Japan's National Institute for Materials Science and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that light travels. Furthermore, they have shown that the current can be "switched" on and off, which has potential for developing tiny, energy-efficient transistors. 

Among its many unusual properties, graphene is known for its extraordinarily high electrical conductivity due to the high and constant velocity of electrons travelling through this material. This unique feature has made scientists try to use graphene for faster and more energy-efficient transistors. The challenge has been that to make a transistor, the material needs to be controlled to have a highly insulating state in addition to its highly conductive state. In graphene, however, such a "switch" in the speed of the carrier cannot be easily achieved. In fact, graphene usually has no insulating state, which has limited graphene's potential a transistor.

First Graphene has announced a third trial with one of the United Kingdom’s largest cement producers, Breedon Group, which will test an optimized formulation of the Company’s PureGRAPH-CEM® product under full-scale production conditions. This trial builds on the work recently conducted in exclusive collaboration with Breedon at its Hope Plant, which confirmed the Company’s ability to produce graphene enhanced cement at an industrial scale.

The third trial incorporates the technical and practical experiences obtained in the first two trials to further optimize the performance of First Graphene’s graphene nanoplatelets. The trial will primarily focus on testing a new grade of graphene, PureGRAPH-CEM®, under full- scale cement production conditions at Breedon’s Hope Cement Works facility in Derbyshire, United Kingdom.