Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 25

First Graphene is collaborating with Flinders University to launch 2D Fluidics - a company that will aim to commercialize the Vortex Fluidic Device (VFD). 2D Fluidics is 50% owned by FGR and 50% by Flinders University’s newly named Flinders Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology.

The VFD was invented by the Flinders Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology’s Professor Colin Raston and enables new approaches to producing a wide range of materials such as graphene and sliced carbon nanotubes. The key intellectual property used by 2D Fluidics comprises two patents around the production of carbon nanomaterials, assigned by Flinders University.

Haydale, the global advanced materials group, has announced that strong commercial progress has been made with an unspecified global composite materials group to enhance mechanical properties for selected products in their range of materials, through a commercially funded contract.

Over the last 12 months, Haydale has completed a series of pre-production trials for this customer (who for commercial reasons cannot be named) to enhance these selected products' mechanical performance through the incorporation of graphene in a range of world-wide industrial applications. Haydale reports that to date, it has been paid approximately $150,000 USD by the Customer for these trials.

Researchers at the Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-1) in Germany have developed a material comprising tin oxide nanoparticles enriched with antimony, on a base layer of graphene, that can reportedly triple the capacity of a battery cell and dramatically cut the charging time.

"An important factor is the anode material," said Prof Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing from the Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-1), who led the research. "In principle, anodes based on tin dioxide can achieve much higher specific capacities, and therefore store more energy, than the carbon anodes currently being used. They have the ability to absorb more lithium ions. Pure tin oxide, however, exhibits very weak cycle stability - the storage capability of the batteries steadily decreases and they can only be recharged a few times. The volume of the anode changes with each charging and discharging cycle, which leads to it crumbling."

Versarien has announced that it has signed a collaboration with an undisclosed FTSE listed European manufacturer and supplier of co‑manufactured and private label consumer products for the household and personal care markets.

The collaboration will see both parties working on a number of projects involving the incorporation of Versarien's proprietary Nanene few layer graphene nano-platelets into polymer structures. In particular, the collaboration will aim to provide alternative solutions for packaging and the enhancement of existing products utilizing graphene-enhanced polymers.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with scientists from IIT Kanpur and the University of Campinas, Brazil, have developed a graphene-based nanocomposite material that can selectively convert environmental carbon monoxide into less toxic carbon dioxide.

The new composite material is made of graphene and an alloy of platinum and palladium in the form of nanoparticles. In the project, graphene was used as a substrate and then decorated with alloy nanoparticles made of platinum and palladium. The novel catalytic structure was then used for selective oxidation of CO into CO₂. The use of a metal particle of certain orientation which absorbs or interacts with CO at lower energy reportedly helped the conversion.

The graphene-enhanced composites market is on the rise with many applications popping up around the world. While graphene-enhanced composites are exciting and yield properties like a substantial mechanical strength and conductivity boost, other advanced materials are being developed worldwide to compete or complete graphene's attributes.

One such fascinating material is an artificial dragline spidersilk, developed by an Israel-based startup called Seevix Material Sciences. We contacted Dr. Shmulik Ittah, Co-Founder and CTO at Seevix Material Sciences, to give us a short review of the Company's promising material. Dragline spidersilk is known as an extremely strong fiber, that also manages to be highly elastic and stretchable. In fact, it can stretch up to 30% of its initial length. Spider silk is thus a unique phenomenon in the materials world, toting two such seemingly contradictory properties which usually do not co-reside in one material, whether natural or synthetic.

Directa Plus, producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced it has entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement with Arvind Limited, India’s leading textile-to-retail-and-brands conglomerate, to infuse Directa Plus’ G+ graphene-based products into their denim fabrics.

Directa Plus’ graphene-based products can be used in a variety of ways to alter or enhance the properties of conventional Denim fabrics, and to produce ‘smart’ clothing for different purposes and environments. End-users benefit from the thermal and electrical conductivity and bacteriostatic properties of G+, such as thermal regulation, heat dissipation, energy harvesting, data transmission and no-odor effect.

A joint venture between Graphenest and Sipre (a Portuguese kayak manufacturer known for its flatwater, ocean and open water kayaks) produced what is hailed as the lightest surfski kayak in the world. It is 5.75 meters long and weighs around 9.3 kg.

This engineering accomplishment was enabled by substituting the ordinarily used epoxy resin by Graphenest’s HexaBond epoxy resin system for fiber reinforced composites. HexaBond can be applied in any fiber reinforced composites to improve mechanical strength, durability and chemical resistance. Hexabond is able to increase the strength of carbon fiber composites up to 24%, while simultaneously reducing weight by 10%.

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the rocket development arm of the Chinese space program, recently announced the design of a graphene composite film suitable for use in light-propelled spacecraft.

The composite was developed as part of CALT’s research on graphene-based spacecraft propulsion, a new technology that converts light into electrical energy. The method utilizes a technology similar to the solar sail, which was already tested by Japan’s space agency JAXA during its IKAROS mission to Venus. Unlike the solar sail, however, the graphene sail will not use thin-film solar cells, but will instead be covered with graphene film.

The Center for Process Innovation (CPI) will be collaborating with the National Composites Center (NCC) to develop advanced lightweight materials. The project, known as ‘Enhanced structural composites’ (ECOi), is evaluating the functionality and applicability of new graphene-enhanced materials in a variety of industries.

The University of Manchester will be consulting on the ECOi project at their National Graphene Institute, to generate and test a variety of new graphene composites that have improved functional properties compared to current materials.