» Graphene applications

Graphene applications: what is graphene used for?

Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern. Graphene is considered to be the world's thinnest, strongest and most conductive material - to both electricity and heat. All this properties are exciting researchers and businesses around the world - as graphene has the potential the revolutionize entire industries - in the fields of electricity, conductivity, energy generation, batteries, sensors and more.

Mechanical strength

Graphene is the world's strongest material, and so can be used to enhance the strength of other materials. Dozens of researches have demonstrated that adding even a trade amount of graphene to plastics, metals or other materials can make these materials much stronger - or lighter (as you can use less amount of material to achieve the same strength).

applications of composites image

Such graphene-enhanced composite materials can find uses in aerospace, building materials, mobile devices, and many other applications.

Thermal applications

Graphene is the world's most conductive material to heat. As graphene is also strong and light, it means that it is a great material to make heat-spreading solutions, such as heat sinks. This could be useful in both microelectronics (for example to make LED lighting more efficient and longer lasting) and also in larger applications - for example thermal foils for mobile devices.

graphene-bulb-demonstration-image



Energy storage

Because graphene is the world's thinnest material, it is also the material with the highest surface-area to volume ratio. This makes graphene a very promising material to be used in batteries and supercapacitors. Graphene may enable devices that can store more energy - and charge faster, too. Graphene can also be used to enhance fuel-cells.

Coatings ,sensors, electronics and more

Graphene has a lot of other promising applications: anti-corrosion coatings and paints, efficient and precise sensors, faster and efficient electronics, flexible displays, efficient solar panels, faster DNA sequencing, drug delivery, and more.

Graphene is such a great and basic building block that it seems that any industry can benefit from this new material. Time will tell where graphene will indeed make an impact - or whether other new materials will be more suitable.

Latest graphene application news

Directa Plus announces significant graphene-enhanced textiles order

Directa Plus logoDirecta Plus, producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced the receipt of two orders from an Italian work-wear customer with an aggregate value for Directa Plus of approximately €500,000 over the next two financial years.

Directa Plus’s Planar Thermal Circuit graphene technology will be incorporated in around 10,000 work-wear garments. The first order for approximately 2,000 garments with a value for Directa Plus of €150,000 is expected to be delivered in the 2018 financial year, with the second order for approximately 8,000 garments with a value of €350,000 expected to be delivered by mid 2019.

Read the full story Posted: Oct 23, 2018
The Graphene Handbook

Research team examines graphene's effects on the lungs

Researchers from Empa and the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) in Fribourg have conducted studies on a 3D lung model to examine the behavior of graphene and graphene-like materials once they have been inhaled.

AMI lung model imageThe lung model at Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI)

Thanks to the 3-D lung model, the researchers have succeeded in simulating the actual conditions at the blood-air barrier and the impact of graphene on the lung tissue as realistically as possible – without any tests on animals or humans. It is a cell model representing the lung alveoli. Conventional in vitro tests work with cell cultures from just one cell type – the newly established lung model, on the other hand, bears three different cell types, which simulate the conditions inside the lung, namely alveolar epithelial cells and two kinds of immune cells – macrophages and dendritic cells.

Read the full story Posted: Oct 21, 2018

Graphene products for the Huawei Mate 20 X to be supplied by The Sixth Element Materials in large quantities

Following the news on Huawei's Mate 20 X phone that will use “graphene film cooling technology” for heat management purposes, we have now found out that the graphene producer for this Huawei phone will be China-based The Sixth Element Materials.

Graphene products for the Huawei Mate 20 X to be supplied by The Sixth Element Materials in large quantities image

The Sixth Element Materials will be providing the graphene product, out of the Company's current 260 tons/year capacity. However, as Huawei graphene requirements is estimated to take up almost all of TSEM's available capacity, TSEM is working on increasing its capacity to 1000 tons/year, and intends to be on stream around the beginning 2020 (but the dates are not yet finalized).

Read the full story Posted: Oct 18, 2018

Huawei's new Mate 20 X uses graphene film cooling technology

Update: the graphene producer for this Huawei phone will be China-based The Sixth Element Materials. Click for more details.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has launched Mate 20 series, which includes the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro and Mate 20 X. In its Mate 20 X phone, the largest in the lineup with its 7.2-inch OLED display, Huawei uses “graphene film cooling technology” for heat management purposes.

Huawei Mate 20 X image

Huawei states that its Mate 20 X features Huawei Supercool - "the world’s first liquid multi-dimensional cooling system with Vapor Chamber (VC) and Graphene Film used in smartphones". It reportedly conducts heat away fast, keeping the device cool even under heavy loads (as the device is touted as a gaming device).

Read the full story Posted: Oct 17, 2018
XFNANO: Graphene and graphene-like materials since 2009 XFNANO: Graphene and graphene-like materials since 2009