Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 29

Graphene has been attracting attention due to its exciting properties and countless ideas for applications benefiting from those properties have been thought of; However, it is rightfully claimed that graphene has yet to transform an actual industry or become a household name.

With that said, graphene seems to be slowly but surely entering the market in all sorts of products. In this post, we list 10 products already commercially available that contain graphene - and these are not all of them. Hopefully this is just the beginning and many more applications will follow.

International wheel producer Vittoria sells a range of bicycle wheels that are built from graphene-enhanced composite materials. The wheels, called Quarno (Graphene Plus inside) are available in three different editions (46, 60 and 84 mm) and contain graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) provided by Directa Plus. The company explains that the graphene grants the wheels advantages like heat dissipation (15-30°C lower) a crucial factor in the slopes, an increase in lateral stiffness (more than 50%) and puncture reduction, especially around the valve area.

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.

Directa Plus has announced its collaboration with Iterchimica, am Italy-based producer and distributor of specialized additives for asphalt. The collaboration with Iterchimica is focused on developing a graphene-enhanced asphalt additive, which is patent-pending, that can significantly improve the durability and sustainability of asphalt road surfaces.

The new additive incorporating the Directa’s Graphene Plus (G+) has been launched by Iterchimica as "Eco Pave". As per reports, the success of laboratory and small-scale trials convinced Iterchimica to conduct a pilot test where Eco Pave will be used as an additive for asphalt covering several kilometers of road surface.

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.

Zenyatta Ventures has announced the commencement of a collaborative research project with Dr. Takashi Kuboki at Western University to develop an advanced plastic (polymer composite) using Zenyatta graphene (or graphene-oxide) derived from Albany high-purity graphite deposit.

Zenyatta sees a potential for such enhanced polymer composite materials to be attractive to the automotive, aerospace and construction industries that seek lightweight materials with added strength, electrical and thermal properties. This new project may expand Zenyatta's business opportunities as a graphene nanomaterial supplier for the polymer composite markets.

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.

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.

Chemicals manufacturer Thomas Swan has announced an expansion of its range of formulated Elicarb Graphene materials with a prototype product focusing on the manufacture of a carbon fiber composite prototype.

Initial independent testing with unidirectional carbon fibers reportedly gave very encouraging results. Adding 1% wt Elicarb Materials Grade Graphene in the epoxy resin in the manufacturing of a carbon fiber laminate improved flexural strength and modulus. This gave the company motivation to move the development one step further and manufacture a commercially relevant carbon fiber prepreg (a woven cloth of carbon fibre pre-impregnated with resin). This prototype was prepared by working collaboratively with an established and experienced third party.

Graphene Flagship partners Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy, in collaboration with FADEL, a leading Italian shoe company, have developed graphene-enhanced shoes. The new GET technology, patented by FADEL, reportedly gives the footwear better thermoregulation and freshness.

In this innovative shoe, when flakes consisting of several graphene layers are added to polyurethane, (the material of which the soles of FADEL shoes are made), laboratory tests show an augmented heat dispersion, a greater resistivity to water and enhanced antibacterial properties. Combining these effects with a ventilation system developed for this particular type of shoe yielded a better user experience. This prototype shoe was presented at the International Footwear Exhibition in Milan.

Versarien has announced a collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries in order to develop and test its graphene technology in aerospace composite structures.

According to Versarien, IAI had agreed to buy its Nanene few-layer graphene nano-platelets technology. IAI, a defense and aerospace company, will incorporate it into composite panels for testing and evaluation with the potential to develop it commercially.