GNPs - Page 8

Talga Resources has announced positive initial test results from epoxy resin-based coatings formulated using Talga’s Talphene branded graphene. Epoxy based coatings are used in various applications, from internal concrete flooring to urban construction products, and they particularly suit anti-corrosion applications.

Talga’s tests used a formulated dispersion of Talga’s few layered graphene (FLG) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), mixed into a two-part epoxy resin. Initial test results show significantly improved coating performance attributes including higher corrosion resistance, increased mechanical strength and higher abrasion resistance compared to the control coatings using commercial type zinc-rich epoxy. Among the key performance gains reported (against control epoxy coatings) are 160% increase in tensile strength, 80% increase in abrasion resistance and 2 orders of magnitude decrease in corrosion rate over zinc-rich epoxy.

Versarien, the advanced materials engineering group, has announced that it has now started collaborating with one of the world’s largest consumer goods groups to enable both groups to work together on research, development and testing of Versarien's proprietary Nanene few layer graphene nano-platelets in polymer structures.

The Partner has provided its first Nanene purchase order to Versarien. The Nanene will be incorporated into polymer structures, primarily for packaging applications, for testing and evaluation, with a view to improving material strength, moisture control and recyclability.

The National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester has joined forces with the NPL to develop a guide, as part of NPL's good practice guide series, that conveys "a detailed description of how to determine the key structural properties of graphene, so that the graphene community can adopt a common metrological approach that allows the comparison of commercially available graphene materials. This guide brings together the accepted metrology in this area".

The guide, titled Characterization of the Structure of Graphene, follows last month's release of the NPL's work on the first ISO (International Organization for Standardization) graphene standard. It describes the high-accuracy and precision required for verification of material properties and enables the development of other faster quality control techniques in the future. The guide is intended to form a bedrock for future interlaboratory comparisons and international standards.

Advanced material solutions company Versarien updated that it is currently in advanced negotiations with two of the world's "largest consumer groups" and expects to receive a first purchase order "imminently". The collaboration with these companies would involve research and development and testing of the company's Nanene few layer graphene nano-platelets in polymer structures.

Versarien also reported "record levels of interest in its graphene products" and also, said that it is set to raise £1.2 million before expenses by issuing new shares in the company. Proceeds will be used to purchase capital equipment and provide working capital to enable current graphene collaborations to continue.

Talga Resources recently provided an update on its UK battery development programs in Warwick Manufacturing Group’s Energy Innovation Centre and at Talga’s Cambridge product development labs. Talga has reportedly received highly encouraging results from 1,200 hours of testwork on a new Li-ion battery anode formulation that combines both its micrographite and GNP materials.

The anode exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance across a range of key industry measures, including reversible capacity of ~420mAh/g over a 100 cycle average with a retention of 99.5% and coulombic efficiency of 99.9%. The capacity measure reflects a ~20% increase in capacity performance compared to commercially available graphite anodes (usually around 330mAh/g). This is significant as increased battery energy density translates into increased range for electric cars and more usage time for a mobile device.

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Haydale has announced the first commercial sales of its products to Everpower Sheng Tie (Xiamen) Graphene Technology ("Everpower"). The sales are for a range of Haydale's Silicon Carbide Fibres and 3D PLA masterbatch mixed with Haydale's functionalized Graphene Nano Platelets ("Additive Manufacturing PLA" or "AM PLA") for immediate delivery.

Haydale believes that these sales to Everpower are strategically important as they mark Haydale's first commercial sales into China and launches the Group and its products into what is expected to be a significant marketplace for Haydale.

Australia-based technology minerals company, Talga Resources, is actively developing graphene materials and graphene-based applications across many areas, including coatings, batteries, construction materials, composites and more.

Mark Thompson, Talga's managing director, was kind enough to update us on Talga's graphene program and answer a few questions we had.

Q: Thank you for this interview, Mark. Can you quickly update us on your graphite mine operation in Sweden?

Talga has over 20 years of graphite mining potential outlined in economic studies to date and currently extracts intermittently what it needs for scale up and testing purposes. Talga mined approximately 5,000 tonnes of graphite ore during 2015-16 trial mining operations. Further extraction is not required for now but permitting for the future larger scale operations is underway.

Imagine Intelligent Materials and Swinburne University have announced a collaborative six-month project aiming to develop graphene-reinforced smart composites. The composite will be able to report on the condition of large structures, and will have major commercial potential in the transport sector, including automotive and aerospace.

The project is supported by a $20,000 Seed grant from the university under a program, targeting interdisciplinary projects that are aligned with the Swinburne research institutes’ external partnership and collaboration objectives. It will combine expertise from experts in sensors, electronics engineering and aerospace manufacturing at the university.

University of Manchester researchers, from the i-composite lab, have devised a method to characterize the dispersion of nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposites using non-contact infrared thermography mapping that measures the thermal diffusivity (α) of the graphene nanocomposite and relates α to a dispersion index.

The main advantage of the proposed method is its ability to evaluate dispersion over a large area at reduced effort and cost, in addition to measuring the thermal properties of the system. The actual resolution of this thermal mapping reaches 200μm per pixel, giving an accurate picture of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) dispersion.