MATERIALS | NANOCOMPOSITES
production in 2020,” says Charles Chang, CEO of TLC Products. “Right now, composites users have to choose between glass fibre (which is strong and cheap but heavy) and carbon fiber (which is strong and light but expensive). In three to five years there will be a third choice that fits between glass fibre and carbon fibre—graphene is strong, light, and cost-effective.” Chang says graphene composites will potentially find application anywhere glass or carbon fibre find use, and where the black colour is not a concern. Automotive is a key example, where light-weighting is especially important for electric vehicles.
Above: The National Graphene Institute is located at the University of Manchester in the UK, where graphene was first isolated in 2004
graphene in thermoplastics and how properties (such as mechanical, thermal, electrical, rheological, and gas-barrier) are affected by the materials and the production process. Colloids expects to develop “next generation” graphene nanocomposite products for target markets including automotive, aerospace, and electrical and electronics. In the US, the National Graphene Association
(NGA), which is headquartered in Nashville in Tennessee and advocates for the commercialisa- tion of graphene, is actively growing. The NGA connected with the GEIC in the UK in late 2018 as an affiliate partner. And in 2019, NGA added several companies to its Graphene Industry Council, including Applied Graphene Materials (a graphene nanoplatelet producer), XG Sciences, and Global Graphene Group (a holding company for five subsidiaries, including graphene and nanocomposite production).
Right: The plate-like structure of graphene provides extensive polymer modification potential
Cutting the cost At Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Dr Thomas Nosker and his research group have developed a patented process to produce low-cost graphene nanocomposites by distributing graphite and graphene nanoparticles in a molten thermo- plastic and exfoliating the graphite to graphene nanoparticles in situ. This avoids the problems of difficult dispersion and weak bonding that may be associated with exfoliating graphene and then subsequently dispersing it in the polymer. Nosker says the process creates good dispersion and covalent bonding between the graphene and the polymer matrix, resulting in significant improve- ments in both stiffness and impact strength (similar to the level of improvement seen with carbon-fiber composites). The process is currently running on a pilot line at output rates up to 45 kg/h but the researchers are working on scaling up to commer- cial scale and aiming for an output of 225-450 kg/h. The research is sponsored by licensee TLC Products. “We expect to be ready for commercial
36 COMPOUNDING WORLD | December 2019
Proven in production OCSiAl operates a SWCNT – it uses the description graphene nanotubes – manufacturing plant with capacity of more than 50 tonnes per year using patented technology that the company says allows low-cost manufacturing. Its Tuball nanotubes are already used in a range of polymers in applications where they provide a high level of electrical conductivity and good mechanical properties, says Ian Fellows, US Sales and Marketing Director for the company. Fellows says that in the industry as a whole, the
current use of graphene in polymers is predomi- nately for mechanical properties and thermal conductivity, rather than electrical conductivity. “In the near future, the adoption of graphene materials in polymers will increase significantly, creating new materials and new applications to grow the market as a whole,” he says. “At OCSiAl we are working to offer our products to the market in order to provide a higher level of performance as well as strong electrical conductivity properties.” At the company’s Nanoaugmented Materials Industry Summit (NAUM ’19) last month, one application on display was a thermoplastic vehicle panel with improved mechanical properties. Using
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IMAGE: COLLOIDS
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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