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Beyond Silicon? Functional Graphene Semiconductors Reach a Major Milestone
ATLANTA — The long-predicted end of the silicon era may finally have a date attached to it. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have successfully created the world’s first functional semiconducting epitaxial graphene (SEC), overcoming a decades-old barrier that kept carbon-based computing in the realm of theory.
For years, graphene was known as a "wonder material"—a single layer of carbon atoms stronger than steel and capable of conducting electricity far faster than silicon. However, it lacked a "bandgap," the crucial property that allows a material to switch current on and off. Without a bandgap, graphene could not function as a transistor.
The Georgia Tech team, led by Professor Walter de Heer, solved this by growing graphene on silicon carbide wafers using a special heating process. This method naturally aligns the carbon atoms to create a functional bandgap of 0.6 eV while retaining electron mobility ten times greater than that of silicon. This breakthrough could pave the way for electronics that run faster and cooler, potentially revitalizing the semiconductor industry as silicon approaches its physical limits.
Turning Waste into Wealth: World’s First Palm-to-Graphite Plant Goes Live>
KUALA LUMPUR — The global supply chain for graphite has historically been dominated by mining and synthetic production from fossil fuels. That paradigm shifted in late 2024 and early 2025 as Graphjet Technology commenced commercial operations at its facility in the Subang District of Malaysia.
The facility is the world’s first to produce battery-grade graphite by recycling palm kernel shells, an abundant agricultural waste product in the region. Graphjet’s plant has the capacity to recycle 9,000 tonnes of shell waste annually to produce 3,000 tonnes of graphite, enough to supply battery production for approximately 40,000 electric vehicles per year.
This "Green Graphite" significantly reduces the carbon footprint of battery production and offers Western automakers a supply chain alternative independent of traditional graphite sources. Meanwhile, several earlier carbon-nanomaterial startups have struggled to commercialize CO₂-based routes, underscoring the market’s shift toward near-term, waste-tovalue solutions.
The Bionic Brain: Graphene Interface Enters Human Trials
MANCHESTER, UK — Carbon materials are making history in the operating room. INBRAIN Neuroelectronics has announced the interim results of the world’s first-in-human clinical study of a graphene-based brain-computer interface (BCI).
Conducted at the Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences, the trial uses a BCI made from graphene, which is uniquely suited for neural interfaces due to its flexibility and biocompatibility. Unlike rigid metal electrodes, the graphene interface can conform to the soft tissue of the brain, detecting high-frequency neural signals with unprecedented clarity.
The study, which began in late 2024, has shown "no safety concerns" so far and demonstrated the ability to map brain activity with high resolution during tumor resection surgeries.
Solving the "Sodium Puzzle": New Insights into Hard Carbon Anodes
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — As lithium shortages loom, the energy industry is pivoting toward sodium-ion batteries, which use cheap, abundant soda ash. The weak link has been the anode; sodium ions are too large to fit into standard graphite anodes. The alternative, "hard carbon," has been notoriously difficult to optimize—until now.
In a 2025 study, engineers at Brown University finally decoded the storage mechanism of sodium within hard carbon. They discovered that sodium storage requires a precise pore architecture: pores must be approximately one nanometer wide to allow sodium ions to enter and form stable metallic clusters without causing hazardous plating.
This work provides some guidelines for synthesizing the desired anode materials," said researcher Lincoln Mtemeri. This finding provides a blueprint for manufacturers to "tune" their carbon materials, potentially unlocking the mass adoption of sodium-ion batteries for grid storage and budget EVs.
While the findings provide a clear design framework, translating this pore control into scalable manufacturing remains an active challenge.