Accelerate the industrialization of graphene-based products

Graphene, a nanomaterial par excellence, is a monolayer of carbon atoms which, due to its exceptional physico-chemical properties (flexibility, mechanical strength, lightness, transparency, electrical and thermal conductivity, etc.) - Nobel Prize in Physics 2010, promises decisive advantages for many applications (electronics & telecom, energy storage, biomedicine, composite materials, etc.).

The development of these applications is nevertheless based on the ability to measure and control certain key parameters of this nanomaterial (number of layers of atoms, defects, impurities, etc.) and then to control its integration into more complex materials, components or devices. However, the quality of graphene-based materials produced on an industrial scale and available on the market today is not satisfactory, which points to the need for better control of the products marketed.

It is to address these issues that the "Validation Service" was created as part of the Graphene Flagship. Through it, LNE, NPL and Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón - Universidad de Zaragoza, NMIs and infrastructures recognized for their independence and impartiality, make their measurement expertise available to academic and industrial actors in the field with the aim of increasing quality and confidence in graphene-based and related materials (performance and risk control, along value chains to finished products).

The objective is to facilitate their industrialisation and commercialisation, as well as those of the many innovative applications they promise, by providing reliable and comparable characterisation data.

The service already offers the evaluation of structural, mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical and chemical properties on the basis of harmonised methodologies (existing standards or standards under development).The LNE-Nanotech Institute, inaugurated last March, also provides solutions to the impact of ageing on these properties and the emission of particles at various key stages in the product's life. All these characterizations concern graphene-based materials in all their diversity as well as similar two-dimensional materials. The offer will evolve towards the evaluation of more complex components and systems, beyond nanomaterials alone, to support technological progress towards higher levels of maturity.

The creation of this service is an essential step in Graphene Flagship's ambition to transform graphene into a true industrial success.

 

	European Union programme involving 150 industrial and academic partners over 10 years (2013-2023) and aimed at exploiting the exceptional properties of graphene.
	The LNE-Nanotech Institute, dedicated to the challenges of metrology at the nanometer scale, aims to advance our knowledge of nanomaterials and nanodevices.

 

More information on the "Validation Service" of the Graphene Flagship.

Press contacts

Alexandre Papin • +33 1 40 43 38 92 • alexandre.papin@lne.fr – Valérie Mulot • +33 1 40 43 40 93