Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 19

Researchers from Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University have found out the structures in nanomaterials made of ceramic and graphene plates, in which cracks appear most frequently. The suggested model may help in the creation of crack-resistant materials.

Many experimental studies of graphene-enhanced composites have shown that their mechanic characteristics are set by the graphene proportion in the composition and by the size of graphene plates allocated in the ceramic matrix. For example, in case of low graphene concentration high crack resistance was achieved with the help of long plates. However, in one of the recent experiments of synthesis of materials from alumina ceramics and graphene the opposite effect was shown: as the plates were bigger, the crack resistance was weaker. The researches from St. Petersburg have developed a theoretical model that explains this paradox.

MITO Material Solutions, a U.S-based nano-additive solutions provider, recently received $1.1 million for product development funding from the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant program (SBIR) and the State of Oklahoma through the Oklahoma Center for Advanced Science and Technology (OCAST) program.

MITO aims to use these funds to continue with their push to manufacture hybrid nanoadditives that enable composite manufacturers to create lighter, tougher, and more durable products for the automotive, wind energy, aerospace, and transportation industries. MITO's CEO, Haley Marie Keith, was kind enough to chat with us and answer our questions.

First Graphene recently signed a new agreement with newGen for the supply of three tonnes of its PureGRAPH products. These will be used by newGen for the manufacture of wear linings used in bucket wheels, pipe spools and conveyor applications in the mining industry. This continues the two Companies' cooperation in the field of graphene-enhanced products (primarily polyurethane liners) for the mining services industry.

Blending PureGRAPH graphene in powder form with existing elastomers reportedly provides considerable mechanical improvements to the material, including enhanced tensile and tear strength, plus far greater abrasion resistance. This extends the life of wear liners, significantly reducing downtime and cost for mining and quarrying operators.

GrapheneCA recently introduced a new product line called Original Graphene (OG). OG Concrete Admix, aimed at the retail concrete industry, reportedly imbues cement with graphene’s superior properties to make it stronger, lighter, and more resistant.

GrapheneCA’s focus on a price-sensitive application is said to lead to taller, faster, lighter, and more durable constructions overall, with the added benefit of being eco-friendly. The launch of Original Graphene Cement admix targets multiple improvements in cement from a single additive reducing cracking, improving strength and weather resistance to build structures that last.

Global infrastructure services firm Aecom is reportedly developing one of the UK’s first 3D-printed commercial products made from graphene-reinforced polymer.

The CNCTArch is being tested in Bristol (Photo from Aecom)

Aecom has produced a graphene arch using additive manufacturing techniques. It believes the method could reduce the time and cost of installing digital signalling systems and transform the digitization of transport networks. The 4.5-meter high, lightweight arch is being tested on outdoor track at Network Rail’s workforce development center in Bristol.

Project "HEA2D", which started in 2016 and set out to investigate the production, qualities, and applications of 2D nanomaterials, recently demonstrated end-to-end processing chain of two-dimensional nanomaterials. The project is a collaboration between AIXTRON, AMO, Coatema, Fraunhofer and Kunststoff-Institut für die mittelständische Wirtschaft (K.I.M.W.).

It was stated that the "HEA2D" consortium successfully demonstrated an end-to-end processing chain of two-dimensional nanomaterials as part of its results. 2D materials integrated into mass production processes have the potential to create integrated and systemic product and production solutions that are socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Application areas for the technologies developed and materials investigated in this project are mainly composite materials and coatings, highly sensitive sensors, power generation and storage, electronics, information and communication technologies as well as photonics and quantum technologies.

Sweden-based startup Graphmatech announced the launch of a new graphene-enhanced composite material. The new product, called Aros Create, is made of Nylon Aros Graphene pellets with a volume resistivity of less than 1 Ωcm while maintaining polymer lightweight, flexibility, processability, and recyclability.

The new composite may be used for extrusion, compression molding and injection molding and reportedly has unique electrical and tribological properties (low and stable coefficient of friction and high wear resistance). The potential applications are diverse, but the company's main focus is on electrical circuit components, LED, conductive coatings, additive manufacturing, EMI / RFI shielding, and charge dissipative coatings.

Haydale has announced that its graphene-enhanced prepreg has been incorporated in the composite tooling and automotive body panels in the new BAC Mono R, which made its debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), working alongside both Haydale and Pentaxia, built the light-weight BAC Mono R body using Haydale’s graphene-enhanced carbon composite materials, in work that started back in 2016. In October 2018, Haydale announced that it has been awarded a research and development grant from the Niche Vehicle Network to develop graphene-enhanced composite tooling and graphene-enhanced automotive body panels.

Researchers at the U.S-based University of Rochester, along with colleagues at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, have designed a way to produce graphene materials using a novel technique: mixing oxidized graphite with bacteria. Their method is reportedly a more cost-efficient, time-saving, and environmentally friendly way of producing graphene materials versus those produced chemically, and could lead to the creation of innovative computer technologies and medical equipment.

From left to right:graphite (Gr), graphene oxide (GO), microbially‐reduced graphene oxide (mrGO), and chemically‐reduced graphene oxide (crGO)

"For real applications you need large amounts," says Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology at the University of Rochester. "Producing these bulk amounts is challenging and typically results in graphene that is thicker and less pure. This is where our work came in". In order to produce larger quantities of graphene materials, Meyer and her colleagues started with a vial of graphite. They exfoliated the graphite-shedding the layers of material-to produce graphene oxide (GO), which they then mixed with the bacteria Shewanella. They let the beaker of bacteria and precursor materials sit overnight, during which time the bacteria reduced the GO to a graphene material.