Materials
4 European researchers are investigating how graphene could boost the properties of thermoplastic components. Lou Reade reports.
4 Les chercheurs européens cherchent actuellement comment le graphène pourrait renforcer les propriétés des produits thermoplastiques. Lou Reade témoigne.
4 Europäische Forscher untersuchen, wie Graphen die Eigenschaften thermoplastischer Komponente verbessern könnte. Lou Reade berichtet.
The small world of graphene
G
raphene is the new wonder material that will give us space elevators, nano-scaled microcircuits and impossibly light aircraft. At least, that’s
the theory. For now, the material simply holds lots of promise, and is still very much a laboratory curiosity. But this potential has led many research teams to investigate how graphene might be moved out of the laboratory and into the world of engineering. A new pan-European research project
called Nanomaster aims to develop new methods to make graphene (and similar nano- scaled carbon compounds) and incorporate it into thermoplastics, in an attempt to boost physical properties. “It’s the combination of electronic, thermal
and mechanical properties that is of interest,” says Ben Hargreaves, senior project manager at Nanomaster’s coordinator NetComposites. “If we wanted to improve any one of these properties, there are other ways of doing it. But graphene can do all three, allowing multi- functional property enhancement.” Some of the physical properties boosted
by graphene (and nano-particles in general) are flame redundancy, barrier properties (which is useful for plastic packaging) and
mechanical strength. Just a small percentage of graphene can improve the stiffness, strength and electrical properties of thermoplastics. The aim of the project is to strengthen plastic components, allowing their weight to be cut by as much as 50 per cent. At the same time, the parts could be imbued with electrical and thermal functionality. Graphene is one of a number of nano-
structured forms of carbon being studied in the project. The others include expanded graphite and nano-graphite. In each case, the very small particle size has a far greater effect than conventionally sized additives – such as standard carbon black, which is commonly used as an anti-static additive in plastics.
Roll call
Nanomaster is a wide-ranging project, encompassing materials specialists, research organisations, manufacturing companies and health and safety experts. As well as being project co-ordinator,
UK-based NetComposites will take charge of moulding graphene nanocomposite test panels. Roechling, which makes plastic car parts such as air intake manifolds, is also an expert in plastic moulding. Among other tasks, it will provide moulds to verify the processability of the new materials. At the same time, Netherlands-based Promolding will handle pilot-scale compounding, as well as analysing the electrical and mechanical properties of the materials. Materials specialists in the project include:
Lati, which makes electrically and thermally conductive compounds; Timcal, a leading producer of graphite and carbon black; Aimplas, a Spanish research organisation with experience in preparing nanocomposite compounds; and MB Proto, a small French company involved in rapid prototyping technologies. Manufacturers in the consortium include:
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www.engineerlive.com Fig. 1. Sheets of graphene can have a huge effect as a plastic additive.
Dutch electronics giant Philips; and Aero Engine Controls, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Goodrich that makes aerospace components. An extra element of the project is the safety
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