TECHNOLOGY | NANOCOMPOSITES
Above: SEM image from WMG showing the high level of dispersion and alignment that can be achieved using PureGraph graphene platelets at 25wt% in an engineering polymer
turing facility at Henderson in Western Australia. The company uses an electrochemical exfolia-
tion process to make its PureGraph graphene nanoplatelets from graphite. The additive is already being used in thermoplastics (in TPU boot soles, for example), and the company is testing it in a wide range of other polymers for improvement of mechanical and conductive properties. In June this year, First Graphene launched its first pelletised masterbatches of graphene nanoplate- lets predispersed in LDPE. PureGraph MB-LDPE is designed for easy dispersion in polyolefins (PE and PP) and can also be used in polyamides and acetal polymers. The masterbatches are available in all platelet sizes and in multiple concentrations. Other masterbatches are in development, with the aim of accelerating time to market by making it easier for processors to test the material, says Michael Bell, CEO of First Graphene. For example, an Australian manufacturer of extruded solar tubes,
Foster Plastics Industries, has tested an EVA masterbatch with 30% PureGraph in its black nitrile/PVC compound. The inclusion of graphene is intended to improve thermal conductivity, tensile strength, compression strength, and UV resistance in the solar tubes. Research into the additive’s benefits in thermo- plastics is ongoing. The Institute for Nanocompos- ites Manufacturing, part ofWMG at the University of Warwick in the UK, is working in collaboration with First Graphene and reports its testing has found improved thermal conductivity and mechanical properties in engineering thermoplastics. Research- ers also found that the graphene platelets could be added at up to 30% by weight without significantly increasing viscosity and even at these high loadings were well dispersed and aligned with polymer flow. Meanwhile, researchers at the ARC Graphene
Research Hub at the University of Adelaide in Australia are investigating an alternative process to improve PureGRAPH dispersion. They are explor- ing a functionalisation process that will chemically bond L-cysteine ethyl ester to the graphene, which is expected to improve dispersion in systems such as polymers and elastomers.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.ocsial.com �
www.colloids.com �
www.nanoxplore.ca �
www.gerdaugraphene.com �
www.techmerpm.com �
www.firstgraphene.net �
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg (WMG) �
https://arcgrapheneresearchhub.com.au/
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IMAGE: WMG/FIRST GRAPHENE
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