News — graphene oxide research

Many people see the development of ‘smart homes’ as the advancement of technology that can be controlled via your phone or other smart devices, however less attention is given to safety devices around the house. There has been significant research into incorporating graphene oxide in smart homes in applications from the internet of things to smart-curtains, but not as much has been found to improve upon household safety. There has been some investigations into graphene oxide as a smoke suppressant however. Researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics have recently developed a multi-purpose wallpaper that is simultaneously fireproof as well as containing built in fire detection systems using graphene oxide. In traditional homes, wallpaper is flammable and aids the spread of fires around the room, therefore there is an inherent need to minimise this risk. Previous attempts at creating flame retardant wallpapers have been somewhat effective, but the development has been hindered due to toxicity and environmental concerns.

Hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(OH)₂(PO₄)₆) nanowires have been utilised as a flame-retardant paper. Graphene oxide ‘ink’ is then used as a thermosensitive sensor, and acts as the wiring in a normal circuit connected to a lamp as well as a buzzer. In its normal form graphene oxide acts as an insulating material, but once exposed to high temperatures (such as a fire) the material is reduced with rapid deoxygenation and becomes electrically conductive and completes the circuit to alight the alarm lamp and sound the buzzer.

The range of graphene materials in current research in academic groups around the world highlights the effect that they will have on day to day applications in the near future. If you have any enquiries about the applications of graphene oxide or how it can improve your existing applications, please get in touch and one of the GOGraphene team will be happy to help.

Scientific Reports, 2018, 8, 3687

Mater. Today, 2014, 17, 152-153.

Environ. Int., 2003, 29, 665-682.

William Blythe recently announced the launch of a new collaborative project with the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at the University of Manchester. This project will investigate novel anode materials for use in energy storage, specifically targeting increased capacity to extend the range of current electric vehicles. Andrew Hurst, Managing Director at William Blythe commented: "We are excited to be undertaking this important development project with Professor Dryfe and his team at the NGI. A combination of William Blythe’s capability in inorganic chemistry and the Institute's global pre-eminence in graphene offers real potential to solve one of the significant problems limiting the adoption of electric vehicles."

Throughout this two year project, William Blythe will supply GOgraphene graphene oxide products to researchers throughout the NGI. The arrangement established will allow extended access to William Blythe’s material which is already in use in a number of projects at the Institute.

Professor Vladimir Falko, Director of the National Graphene Institute said: “The researchers based in the NGI rely on highly consistent and top-quality graphene materials to progress our research and aid in the development of commercial applications. This new partnership with William Blythe allows the University’s graphene scientists greater access to necessary materials with which to work with, in tandem with a project exploring the possibilities of 2D materials and new battery technologies.”

On the 2nd and 3rd November, the city of Cambridge will stage a unique crossover of the 4th Graphene and New Materials and the 15th High Value Manufacturing (HVM) conferences, hosted by the Cambridge Investment Research (CIR) team. This prestigious event will showcase the most recent advances for industrial automation in HVM and the use of graphene materials in applications such as aerospace & defence, electronics, sensors, energy storage, printing and biomedicine, delivered by senior executives and experts in each respective field.

William Blythe will be among those presenting in the ‘Enabling Technology and Industry’ Session on the first day of the conference. This presentation will briefly explore William Blythe as a company, their development and scale up work on graphene oxide which has been achieved in recent years, before concluding with the company’s ability to tune graphene oxide to suit a variety of applications.

The inclusion of graphene materials throughout this conference evidences the materials' flexibility in a variety of sectors, and the drive to commercialise these 2D materials. William Blythe aims to work with its customers in optimising graphene oxide to each specific application and therefore hopes to connect with researchers interested in graphene oxide at this event. If you would like to learn more about our aims, or to arrange a meeting with a member of the William Blythe team at this event, please get in touch.

How soon could it be before graphene materials are present in everyday clothing? The rapid development of nanoscience has accelerated the production of miniaturised electronic devices. These advancements have opened new markets in the textile industry, with academics now researching wearable electronics via the weaving of conductive nanomaterials into the clothing fibres. These fibres have been demonstrated as strain and pressure sensors for health applications, wearable energy converters that can harvest solar energy, and as energy storage devices. This last application is particularly exciting as this will allow for displays on clothing, paper like mobile phones and clothing that can be used as a power source for when you’re on the move.

Materials such as metallic nanoparticles and polypyrrole have been deposited on yarn to produce supercapacitors with energy storage properties, however research has demonstrated issues with low strength and capacitance in the fibres. An ASC Nano published paper has utilised graphene oxide as an effective component in these fibres to increase the electronic performance. This research produced a fibre with high specific capacities, good flexibility and long cycle life, with up to 92% retention of capacity after 4950 cycles.

In the study, the yarn is coated in a graphene oxide dispersion and is easily reduced in-situ during the fibre making process. The reduced graphene oxide was found to increase strength, improve charge transfer to the metallic nanoparticles and also contributes to capacitance enhancement. This research exhibits another example of how graphene oxide can be used in composites to increase a products performance in a wide range of applications. If you have any questions regarding the use of graphene oxide in your research, please get in touch.

ACS Nano, 2015, 9, 4766–4775

William Blythe became corporate members of The Graphene Council in August 2016 as part of their ongoing research into graphene oxide. As the world’s largest community of graphene professionals, The Graphene Council works with experts worldwide to support the commercialisation of graphene materials.

Since launching graphene oxide as a commercial product via the GOgraphene webshop just over a year ago, William Blythe has worked to actively engage with the wider graphene community through several platforms, including opportunities presented via The Graphene Council. The team at William Blythe maintain an active calendar of graphene related events around the world, details of upcoming events can be found on the William Blythe website.

If you have any questions regarding the ongoing graphene oxide work taking place at William Blythe, or if you have any questions related to the products available on our GOgraphene webshop, please get in touch and a member of the team will be happy to help.