How Does 3D Graphene Foam Production Compare to Current Graphene Manufacturing Methods?

Author: Carla Elizondo

How Does Graphene’s Production Impact On How We Can Use It?

Graphene’s single-atom-thick structure offers a wealth of incredible electrochemical properties that make it the perfect candidate for next-generation technological development. Since its discovery, the wonder material has proven its potential to disrupt the materials industry, enabling its innovative features to re-invent sectors such as diagnostic testing and batteries.

Its properties are largely dependent on the production technique chosen and, as with all materials manufacturing, there are several key production features that must be carefully considered to ensure the process is fully optimised. An ideal manufacturing process consistently creates a pure, high-quality product at a low cost and with minimal environmental impact. Currently, three of the main 2D graphene production methods are chemical vapour deposition (CVD), chemical or mechanical exfoliation and graphene oxide reduction. While these production techniques offer a lot of promising results, their limitations can compromise on purity, quality, cost and environmental safety. Most graphene production methods also offer little flexibility over customisation, which is another hurdle to overcome in integrating graphene into novel products.

Integrated Graphene’s 3D Graphene Foam, Gii, offers all 2D graphene’s attractive features but boosts the electrochemically active surface area to augment the material’s potential, whilst still maintaining its nano-scale size. Our manufacturing process overcomes all of the conventional graphene production hurdles and unlock graphene’s full potential by producing a customisable, 98% pure, low-cost graphene without the need for expensive, toxic chemicals and energy-intensive steps. Our pure 3D Graphene Foam, Gii, will bring to life the products of the future, today.

What Are the Strengths and Limitations of 2D Graphene Production by CVD, Exfoliation and Reduction of Graphene Oxide?

CVD involves the deposition of vapourised chemicals onto a growth substrate and it is currently considered the leading approach to manufacturing 2D graphene as it produces high quality, uniform graphene sheets with few defects. Chemical and mechanical exfoliation produces graphene by etching small sheets off a piece of graphite. Graphite is a carbon allotrope consisting of a high number of carbon sheets, as opposed to single-layered graphene. Reduced graphite oxide can be exfoliated into graphene oxide to then produce flakes of single-layer graphene. The strengths and limitations of each of these methods are summarised below. 

How Does 3D Graphene Foam Poduction Compare to Conventional 2D Graphene Production?

Our 3D Graphene Foam, Gii, production is:

• Low-Cost

• High-Quality

• Customisable

• Scalable

Gii is grown on any surface, in seconds. It does not require the use of toxic catalysts, reducing the risk of impurities, and its simple process allows for excellent batch-to-batch consistency. Gii is composed of 98% carbon, which is a level of purity currently unmatched by other production methods. Reproducibility is key in providing consistent results due to lengthy processes with room for variability and error. Due to its 3D structure, Gii enables the harnessing of graphene’s incredible properties with a large electrochemically active surface area at nanoscale and without brittleness. As it can be grown directly onto any substrate, the issue with transferring and Gii is produced in seconds at ambient room temperature meaning that energy requirements are considerably lower than other methods that require heating to temperatures above 800°C. Because of its simple production method, Gii is truly customisable and can be enhanced for any application. Gii manufacturing overcomes the hurdles faced with conventional graphene production whilst improving the material’s capabilities and lowering the cost and environmental impact of production.

Gii is Enabling Industry Access to Graphene

The revolutionary manufacturing process used to produce Gii creates a pure, high-quality 3D Graphene Foam that can offer reproducible results at a fraction of the cost of conventionally produced 2D graphene. With a large, porous, electrochemically active area and an attractive production process, Gii is the perfect tool for large-scale integration into highly sensitive products like medical diagnostic tools. Fully customisable, due to its simple and flexible manufacturing process, Gii can be tailored to any application. This attractive production process will enable a large-scale technological revolution of graphene-powered innovation. As a high quality, low-cost reproducible material that is customisable for any application, Gii will unlock industry access to graphene and enable the products of the future, today.

For more information on how you can integrate Gii into your product today, please contact us.