In the 1940s, scientists first explained how materials can deform plastically by atomic-scale line defects called dislocations. These defects can be understood as tiny carpet folds that can move one part of a material relative to the other without spending a lot of energy. Many technical applications are based on this fundamental process, such as forging, but we also rely on the power of dislocations in our everyday life: in the crumple zone of cars dislocations protect lives by transforming energy into plastic deformation. FAU researchers have now found a way of manipulating individual dislocations directly on the atomic scale – a feat only dreamt of by materials scientists.

In order to get introduced to Graphene, a good point of start would be Graphite. Graphite is a naturally-occurring form of crystalline carbon. It is a native element mineral found in metamorphic and igneous rocks. Regarding its composition, Graphite is a stack of carbon-atom layers.

Publication in Scientific Reports

Carbon nanoparticles are a promising tool for biomedical applications, for example for targeted transportation of biologically active compounds into cells. A team of researchers from the Physics, Medicine and Chemistry departments at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now examined whether these particles are potentially dangerous for the organism and how cells cope with them once they have been incorporated. The findings of the interdisciplinary study have just been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Graphene is a promising material for use in nanoelectronics. Its electronic properties depend greatly, however, on how the edges of the carbon layer are formed. Zigzag patterns are particularly interesting in this respect, but until now it has been virtually impossible to create edges with a pattern like this. Chemists and physicists at FAU have now succeeded in producing stable nanographene with a zigzag edge. Not only that, the method they used was even comparatively simple.

The use of potassium bromide in the production of graphene on a copper surface can lead to better results. When potassium bromide molecules arrange themselves between graphene and copper, it results in electronic decoupling. This alters the electrical properties of the graphene produced, bringing them closer to pure graphene, as reported by physicists from the universities of Basel, Modena and Munich in the journal ACS Nano.

Cell-based biosensors can simulate the effect of various substances, such as drugs, on the human body in the laboratory. Depending on the measuring principle, though, producing them can be expensive. As a result, they are often not used. Cost factors for sensors that perform measurements electrically are the expensive electrode material and complex production. Fraunhofer scientists are now producing biosensors with graphene electrodes cheaply and simply in roll-to-roll printing. A system prototype for mass production already exists.

Graphene produced with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) will form the cornerstone of future graphene-based chemical, biological, and other types of sensors. Graphene, however, is extremely sensitive to air, in particular to humidity. To avoid unwanted background coming from humidity and to calibrate future sensors, it is highly important to investigate the mechanisms by which water (in the form of environmental humidity) affects graphene sheets.

Jülich, 29. März 2016 – Jülicher Physikerinnen und Physiker haben unerwartete Effekte in dotiertem, das heißt mit Fremdatomen versetztem, Graphen entdeckt. Sie untersuchten mit Stickstoff – als Fremdatom – angereicherte Proben der Kohlenstoffverbindung auf unterschiedlichen Trägermaterialen. Ungewollte Wechselwirkungen mit diesen Substraten können die elektrischen Eigenschaften des Graphens beeinflussen. Jetzt haben die Forscher des Peter-Grünberg-Instituts gezeigt, dass auch die effektive Dotierung von der Wahl des Trägermaterials abhängt. Ihre Ergebnisse wurden nun in der Fachzeitschrift Physical Review Letters veröffentlicht.

Im Herbst 2015 hat das Graduiertenkolleg „Molekulare Biradikale“ seine Arbeit an der Uni Würzburg aufgenommen. Jetzt liegt ein erstes Ergebnis dieser Zusammenarbeit von Chemikern und Physikern vor: eine Publikation über ein neues Molekül, das für die organische Elektronik interessant ist.

New materials are needed to further reduce the size of electronic components and thus make devices such as laptops and smartphones faster and more efficient. Tiny nanostructures of the novel material graphene are promising in this respect. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and, among other things, has a very high electrical conductivity. However, the extreme spatial confinement in such nanostructures influences strongly their electronic properties. A team led by Professor Michael Bonitz of the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics (ITAP) at Kiel University has now succeeded in simulating the detailed behavior of electrons in these special nanostructures using an elaborate computational model. This knowledge is crucial for the potential use of graphene nanostructures in electronic devices.

For the first time, the targeted functionalization of carbon-based nanostructures allows the direct mapping of current paths, thereby paving the way for novel quantum devices. Computers are getting faster and increasingly powerful. However, at the same time computing requires noticeably more energy, which is almost completely converted to wasted heat. This is not only harmful to the environment, but also limits further miniaturization of electronic components and increase of clock rates. A way out of this dilemma are conductors with no electrical resistance.

Each atomic layer thin, tear-resistant, and stable. Graphene is seen as the material of the future. It is ideal for e.g. producing ultra-light electronics or highly stable mechanical components. But the wafer-thin carbon layers are difficult to produce. At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Jürgen Kraus has manufactured self-supporting graphene membranes, and at the same time systematically investigated and optimized the growth of the graphene crystals. He was awarded the Evonik Research Prize for his work.

Due to their unique properties, carbon nanotubes would be ideal for numerous applications, from ultra-lightweight batteries to high-performance plastics, right through to medical implants. But they either cannot be combined adequately with other materials, or they then lose their beneficial properties. Scientists from Kiel University and the University of Trento have now developed an alternative combining method, so that they retain their characteristic properties. As such, they "felt" the thread-like tubes into a stable 3D network that is able to withstand extreme forces. The research results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

At this year’s Photonics West Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI presents its latest developments in Photonic Components, Systems and Networks.

Photonics West is the world's largest photonics technologies event. Every year over 20,000 people come to hear the latest research and find the latest devices and systems driving technology markets including state-of-the art medical technologies, the Internet of things, smart manufacturing and “Industry 4.0,” autonomous vehicles, scientific research, communications, displays, and other solutions powered by photonics.

Graphen gilt als eines der vielversprechendsten neuen Materialien. Es defektfrei und kostengünstig herzustellen, ist für Wissenschaftler weltweit jedoch nach wie vor eine große Herausforderung. Chemikern der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) ist es nun erstmals gelungen, defektfreies Graphen direkt aus Graphit herzustellen. Ihre Ergebnisse hat die Arbeitsgruppe im renommierten Fachmagazin „Nature Communications“ veröffentlicht (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12411).

Wie die Fachzeitschrift «Nature» in ihrer aktuellen Ausgabe berichtet, ist es Forschern der Empa, des Max-Planck-Instituts in Mainz und der TU Dresden erstmals gelungen, aus Molekülen Graphen-Nanobänder mit perfektem Zickzackrand herzustellen. Die Atome der Ränder verfügen über Elektronen mit unterschiedlichem (und gekoppeltem) Drehsinn («Spin»). Dieser könnte Graphen-Nanobänder zum Werkstoff der Wahl für eine Elektronik der Zukunft machen, die so genannte Spintronik.

By using graphene as substrate, dye molecules self-assemble and form monolayers of high regularity. This increases their optical properties significantly.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Bern and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has revealed a new way to tune the functionality of next-generation molecular electronic devices using graphene. The results could be exploited to develop smaller, higher-performance devices for use in a range of applications including molecular sensing, flexible electronics, and energy conversion and storage, as well as robust measurement setups for resistance standards.

Graphene is considered a promising candidate for the nanoelectronics of the future. In theory, it should allow clock rates up to a thousand times faster than today’s silicon-based electronics. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), have now shown for the first time that graphene can actually convert electronic signals with frequencies in the gigahertz range – which correspond to today’s clock rates – extremely efficiently into signals with several times higher frequency. The researchers present their results in the scientific journal “Nature”.

The EU is granting the chemist Andreas Hirsch of Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) 2.49 million euros to conduct research into black phosphorus on the molecular level. The holder of the Chair of Organic Chemistry II at FAU aims to develop new areas for its application, for instance in the fields of electrical energy storage and solar cells. It could make batteries last longer or enable solar cells to produce more electrical energy. This is the second ERC Advanced Grant to be approved for a research project headed by Hirsch. That makes him the first FAU researcher to achieve this feat.