Graphene-Reinforced Epoxies for High Performance Applications (NanoSynth)

NanoSynth will develop a synthesis platform to deliver industrial quantities of graphene-filled epoxy resins. This will have a significant effect in a wide range of markets where improvements are needed in strength, toughness, electrical conductivity and thermal performance of epoxies. Graphene is usually obtained industrially by expanding and separating graphite layers using combined thermal and chemical methods. These methods are typically energy-intensive, low yield and use large amounts of solvent. Attempts to produce and disperse graphene in situ (in the polymer) focus on viscous thermoplastic systems but little attention is being paid to low viscosity epoxy resins, despite a need to improve their properties and a world market of £9.8bn. NanoSynth will therefore develop methods for producing large-scale quantities of graphene-filled epoxy resins, using combinations of mechanical and non-contact methods to exfoliate graphite and disperse the resulting graphene directly into resin.