Graphene Coating: introduction and market status - Page 8

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) dispersions, has launched a range of industrial anti-corrosion primers based on its Genable technology.

Graphene nanoplatelets have been shown to provide highly effective barrier and anti-corrosion properties in paints and coatings at extremely low loading levels. AGM reports that following outstanding results through extensive inhouse research and testing, it has developed two new prototype paint systems using its graphene products.

Sparc Technologies signed an agreement with its partner (and shareholder) the University of Adelaide to co-develop ultra-green hydrogen technology.

Sparc Tech, together with the University, will form a joint-venture called Sparc Hydrogen (72% owned by Sparc Tech). The new company will develop a process that will produce hydrogen based on thermo-photocatalysis, which uses the suns radiation and thermal properties to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Iceni Labs, a spin-out from Imperial College London, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore’s 2D Materials (2DM) that will see the companies combine their respective expertise to develop and market graphene-based products for the defense, automotive and aerospace markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Iceni Labs, a spin-out from Imperial College London, aims to exploit the properties of graphene for devices aimed at the defense market. 2DM manufactures graphene as an additive to enhance the properties of many industrial materials. The MoU will explore the potential to use 2DM’s graphene as an industrial additive to enhance the properties of Iceni Labs-developed industrial products including microphones, weapons optics devices and coatings.

Directa Plus has announced that its new G+ graphene coatings are being used in two collections at the Milan Design Week. During the event, designers, architects, creatives, producers and brands in furniture and upholstery and interior design show their new products and creations.

The graphene product is being displayed by two Italian companies: Plinio il Giovane, a central Milan based producer of high-end furniture and upholstery, and Danese Milano, a subsidiary of lighting company Artemide. The G+ coating has been used for Plinio il Giovane’s chairs and sofas and Danese Milano’s desk pad.

Curtin University researchers have recently shown that applying a thin (and of course, invisible) layer of graphene oxide to silicon forms an impermeable barrier, which could be used to protect artwork, prevent corrosion of metals, and produce higher efficiency solar cells.

Lead author, Dr. Nadim Darwish from Curtin’s School of Molecular Life Sciences, said while protective layers on silicon were already used as an efficiency enhancer in devices such as solar cells and microchips, the procedure for forming these protective coatings was complicated and required highly specialized fabrication laboratories.

UK's G2O Water Technologies has reported securing its first commercial contract for the enhancement of water filtration membranes with graphene oxide.

The Company explains that the advantages of using graphene oxide lie in the enhancement of membrane performance, as it mitigates the effects of fouling one of the biggest challenges operators of membrane-based water filtration systems face. With a coating of graphene oxide, successfully developed and piloted by the company in the northwest of England in collaboration with Hydrasyst Limited, operators can improve operational efficiency, reduce energy consumption and decrease chemical usage. It is anticipated that this will extend the lifetime of the membranes, as well as significantly reduce the cost and environmental impact of water treatment.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences of Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras, and the Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI) of the University of Florence, led by Professor Costas Galiotis, set out to use 'graphene veils' for the protection of paintings against environmental degradation.

The exposure of colors used in artworks to ultraviolet (UV) and visible light in the presence of oxidizing agents, triggers color degradation, fading and yellowing. These degradation mechanisms can lead to irreversible alteration of artworks, which consist of a valuable heritage for humankind. Currently used protective varnishes and coatings are often problematic, as their removal requires the use of solvents, which can adversely affect the underlying work surface.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) has been awarded a US Government contract to develop protective films to be integrated into protective eyewear. The contract with the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD, formerly CTTSO) will fund AMD’s development of laser filtering coatings, based on AMD’s nanomaterial and photonic crystal technologies.

AMD incorporates few layer graphene (FLG) into a polymeric substrate to create the photonic crystals which are the foundation of their platform technology.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) and First Graphene have agreed to collaborate on the ongoing development of AMD’s conductive inks and other graphene enabled coatings.

Under a binding memorandum of understanding (MoU), AMD will provide expertise in the design and development of functional nanomaterials and hierarchical assembly of material systems, while First Graphene delivers capabilities in the development, manufacture and supply of its graphene nanoplatelets, branded PureGraph.

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM), producer of graphene nanoplatelet dispersions, recently announced that it will be presenting a breakthrough technology that enables easy graphene dispersion in water-based epoxy coatings, while delivering improved corrosion protection, at the Corrosion 21 Conference & Expo on 28th April 2021.

AGM said that the technology represents a major milestone in the development of performance-enhancing graphene technologies for more sustainable coatings manufacturers. AGM has previously made strides in anticorrosion performance in solvent-based coatings through the use of its Genable graphene nanoplatelet dispersion technology. However, water-based coating development remains a key focus for industry formulators looking to improve the safety and environmental impacts of their products.