Graphene Coating: introduction and market status - Page 16

Canada-based Graphene Innovation & Technologies (GIT) has recently announced been its participation in a Nova Scotia Business (NSBI) Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program with Centre for Water Resource Studies at Dalhousie University. The program will facilitate comprehensive research into using multilayer graphene in protective coatings for marine-based applications.

The goal of this collaboration is to investigate environmentally friendly alternatives to marine anti-fouling coatings, many of which function by releasing potentially harmful copper oxide particles into the ocean. The team has begun an extensive research project comparing the performance of GIT’s GrapheneCoat formulations against conventional anti-fouling coatings. Sensitive testing is being used to finely monitor the growth rates of microorganisms on the coated samples.

First Graphene has provided an update on its development of the FireStop graphene-enhanced fire retardant coating in the form of a video. Development of the FireStop material is being conducted in conjunction with the University of Adelaide as part of the Company’s participation as a Tier 1 participant in the ARC Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation.

The video shows the dramatic effectiveness of FireStop when applied to simple wooden structures. Whereas the untreated structure on the left is totally consumed by fire, the structure treated with the FireStop retardant doesn’t seem to catch fire even after five minutes of trying. Given that fires generally start at specific ignition points, the ability of a graphene-based retardant to stop the ignition is a key feature of the product.

Norway-based CealTech was established in 2012 to commercialize a patented 3D graphene production method. The company recently received its first prototype proprietary industrial-scale Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) graphene production reactor.

We discussed CealTech's technology and business with the company's marketing and sales manager, Michel Eid. Michael holds a Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from the Ecole Polytechnique in France, and held various roles in engineeing, manufacturing, sustaining, sales, marketing and business development. Michel joined CealTech in January 2017.

Q: Hello Michael. CealTech is commercializing a patented 3D graphene production method. Can you give us some details on the process and the material you are producing?

Our production process is based on David Boyd’s technique as per Nature communications (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7620), ‘Single-step deposition of high-mobility graphene at reduced temperatures’. In summary, the substrate is directly exposed to a low-pressure, microwave hydrogen plasma containing small amounts of methane as carbon source. During this process, vertical grown graphene flakes nucleate and arrange perpendicularly to the surface of the substrate forming a so-called 3D network of non-agglomerated graphene flakes.

Panda Green Energy Group Limited recently announced a strategic collaboration agreement with AVIC BIAM New Materials Technology Engineering Company Limited to jointly develop and manufacture graphene VCI anti-corrosion materials.

This is not the first collaboration between the two companies, and it was stated that this new project is the starting point to promote the combination of new materials and new energy. Panda Green Energy’s future cooperation with AVIC BIAM New Materials will continue to extend, and contribute to leading the industry standards and promoting technological progress throughout the industry.

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.

China-based The Sixth Element Materials launched its graphene-zinc anti-corrosion primer back in 2015 together with his partner Toppen Technology, and the company has since performed extensive testing. TSE updates us that the material has now been deployed in China and has been used to cover several bridges and wind-turbines steel towers.

The Sixth Element graphene type SE1132 is added to Toppens 2k-epoxy primer system. TSE says that by adding 1% of graphene, one could reduce the zinc content in current anti-corrosion coatings from ~80% to 25%, and the the corrosion protection time is doubled. Reducing the zinc also means that this solution is less polluting. The main cost savings comes from the prolonged coating life which means that the time between coating renewal (which requires a lot of labor) is doubled.

Two interesting projects focused on coating single-layer graphene with metal-oxide nanolayers were presented at the latest Thin Films and Coating Technologies for Science and Industry event in the UK. Researchers from Cranfield University, UK, together with collaborators from University of Cambridge and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), applied alumina to form a composite barrier layer, while a team from Imperial College London, UK, used the unique properties of strontium titanate to fabricate a tuneable capacitor.

The researchers of the first project explained that in theory, graphene should represent an ideal ultrathin barrier layer, as the pores between carbon atoms are smaller even than the radius of a helium atom. In practice, however, crystal boundaries and missing atoms allow vapor to permeate through the material, and the weak van der Waals bonds between planes mean that even stacks of multiple graphene layers can be penetrated. The solution reported by the team is to take a graphene monolayer formed by CVD, and to then use atomic layer deposition (ALD) to coat it with a 2550 nm thick layer of alumina. Achieving conformal coatings on single-layer graphene is known to be difficult due to the material’s strong hydrophobicity.

UK's Haydale and Australia-based Imagine Intelligent Materials have signed a strategic agreement to establish a graphene-based conductive coatings capability in North America. According to the agreement, Haydale is to acquire exclusive license to Imagine IM’s Plant In A Box graphene processing technology and establish US supply chain for graphene-based conductive coatings that are designed for the global geosynthetics market. Haydale will also import inventory of imgne X3 to support planned field trials and early adopter orders.

The companies state that the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between them marks the first step in establishing a strategic collaboration. In parallel, Haydale has issued a Purchase Order to Imagine IM for a quantity of Imgne X3 that will be sufficient to enable 50,000m2 of conductive geotextile to be manufactured. This will ensure that there is available supply in the US ahead of the commissioning of a full-scale plant at Haydale’s manufacturing facility in Greer, SC.

Dotz Nano, a nano-technology company focusing on the development, manufacture, and commercialization of graphene quantum dots (GQDs), recently announced the signing of a non-binding and non-exclusive MoU with Colorplastic, a polymer compounder located in Switzerland for the implementation of GQDs into the polymer and surface modificant market. The GQDs would be used in automotive plastics and anti-counterfeiting/brand protection applications.

The MoU calls for a 6-month pilot project in which GQDs will be supplied by Dotz to Colorplastic for integration into their products for use in the polymers and surface treatment being commercialized by Colorplastic for use by OEMs. The scope of the pilot is to be defined by the parties, but is to cover the technological development and adaptation of GQDs to Colorplastic's products, including production runs for validating commercial scale. The pilot can be extended an additional 3-months by mutual agreement if needed.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a mix of metal nanocrystals wrapped in graphene that may open the door to the creation of a new type of fuel cell by enabling enhanced hydrogen storage properties.

ultrathin oxide layer (oxygen atoms shown in red) coating graphene-wrapped magnesium nanoparticles (orange) still allows in hydrogen atoms (blue) for hydrogen storage applications

The team studied how graphene can be used as both selective shielding, as well as a performance increasing factor in terms of hydrogen storage. The study drew upon a range of Lab expertise and capabilities to synthesize and coat the magnesium crystals, which measure only 3-4 nanometers (billionths of a meter) across; study their nanoscale chemical composition with X-rays; and develop computer simulations and supporting theories to better understand how the crystals and their carbon coating function together.