Garmor

Poland-based Advanced Graphene Products has signed a cooperation agreement with U.S-based Garmor, a division of Asbury Carbons, aiming to increase the scale of operations and expand its markets.

Advanced Graphene Products entered the Warsaw NewConnect market at the end of November last year. The company has an annual production capacity of 100kg of graphene flakes and 150m² of single-crystal graphene sheets. This production capacity will allow commercialization of the developed graphene applications on an industrial scale.

Asbury Carbons, processor of carbon and graphite materials, recently announced that it has acquired Garmor, an advanced materials company based in Orlando, Florida with a patented, environmentally friendly process for the commercial production of Edge Functionalized Graphene (EFG).

In line with its strategy of growth through diversification, the acquisition of Garmor is meant to enhance Asbury’s portfolio of engineered material solutions for adhesives, asphalt, cement, coatings, as well as plastic and metal-matrix composites.

Micro Powders, in collaboration with Garmor, recently launched GraphShield 730, a next-generation graphene-based anticorrosion additive for powder coating applications.

GraphShield 730 uses Micro Powders’ wax composite technology to deliver a high loading of Garmor’s unique edge functionalized graphene product, enabling the delivery of an advanced nanomaterial into coating formulations safely and effectively without any changes needed in the customer’s production process. Graphene imbues the final coating with significantly enhanced corrosion resistance on both bare and treated cold rolled steel, with up to 50% reduction in corrosive creep.

Garmor, manufacturer of low-cost graphene oxide, rGO and developer of innovative GO production methods, recently developed a graphene-enhanced polymeric coating with a 390% reported improvement in tensile strength. Garmor stated that it is already marketing this technology as it has already been fielded and used in commercial applications. Here's a video showing side-by-side testing of the original polymer (left) and the graphene-enhanced polymer (right) shown at 4X normal speed.

In addition, Garmor announced the development of an innovative process for converting insulating polymeric fibers into electrically conductive fibers with minimal cost and no waste products. The method has resulted in composites with single-digit graphene loadings delivering conductivity as high as .023 S/cm. Garmor sees such performance as ideal for wearable sensors and other applications that require integrated approaches to solving weight and measurement issues.

Garmor, a graphene technology provider and developer of advanced customer-driven applications, has developed graphene-based composites ideal for high-volume electronic and energy storage applications. By leveraging inexpensive manufacturing methods to produce few-layer graphene oxide (GO) along with innovative composite compression molding processes, Garmor produced compression-moldable GO-composites that can be shaped and stamped into almost any form factor. Garmor is currently establishing strategic business relationships to deploy this technological advancement in applications focused on energy production and storage.

These composites exhibit nearly isotropic electrical conductivity exceeding 1,000 S/cm delivering a unique, omnidirectional conductive substrate. Equally impressive is that these GO-enhanced materials include a polymeric resin that is inherently chemically resistant and allows for increased lifetime even in harsh operating environments.

Garmor, the University of Central Florida spin-off formed to develop a new graphene oxide flakes production process, has developed graphene oxide-based coatings useful for limiting UV radiation damage to sensors and polymers. Garmor’s transparent GO-films are reprtedly derived from a commercially-viable and scalable process that can be readily implemented with minimal constraints.

Four layers of GO coating on polycarbonate

One of the most promising applications for this material is for coating plastics and polymers susceptible to UV degradation. While a single-layer GO-film maintains greater than 96% transparency in the visible spectrum, the GO-film significantly reduces the transmission of UV radiation below 360nm. Such a film could prove quite beneficial for coating a variety of products including polycarbonate automotive products, photovoltaic panels, and skylights. Transparent GO-films have great potential for use as sensors thanks, in part, to its low resistivity and UV protective coating application. Applications include use as a defogger element, integrated antenna, UV protective element in a windshield, and visor use in a disposable sensor.

Garmor, which was spun-off from from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2013, announced that it increased its single-machine graphene-oxide production capacity to 20 tons per year. Garmor is using its own proprietary automated environmentally-friendly production system that produces GO and has a single by-product: water.

Garmor offers their system as a turn-key solution, so customers can produce graphene oxide on-site. The 20 ton capacity is for a single machine, and Garmor aims to increase the capacity to 100 tons per year.

University of Central Florida spin-off Garmor will take part in the NPE2015 Startup Garage and showcase its low-cost graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide in addition to products made with graphene oxide polymer and fiberglass composites that can be used in a variety of applications ranging from automotive, aerospace, and military to consumer electronics, medical, and construction.

The company will also share the methods developed for the smooth dispersion of graphene into both polar and non-polar plastics. According to Garmor, the company’s partnership with the University of Central Florida (UCF) has played an integral role in perfecting a method to optimize the incorporation of graphene in various polymers, composite materials and coating.

The University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center is developing graphene-based spray coating. The spray will be based on a polymer-graphene composite that will both be used to strengthen materials (used for the construction of aircrafts and cars) and to protect materials from corrosion.

The Center launched a program that will develop graphene oxide, the plastic host and a plasma spray. Garmor (which was spun off the UCF and licensed technology developed at the NanoScience Center) will assist with the formulation of the graphene oxide. The GO will need to be modified so it can be adhered to a plastic host and sprayed onto a surface while retaining its innate strength and elasticity.

Garmor announced a few days ago that it will begin to start producing graphene oxide flakes next month using its low-cost environmentally-friendly production process. Sean Christiansen, Garmor's VP of engineering has been kind enough to answer a few question regarding the company's business and technology.

Dr. Christiansen received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2001. Since then he worked in several companies, helping them to commercialize new innovations in high technology industries.