Issue 10/2018 - New graphene materials are expected to replace carbon fiber

Recently, Professor Cheng Qunfeng's research group at Beihang University and Ray Bowman team at the University of Texas at Dallas in the United States have developed a super tough, highly conductive graphene composite film, which is expected to replace the currently widely used carbon fiber materials
.

The researchers drew on the layered joining method of mother-of-pearl and used chemical preparation method to introduce cross-linking molecules with different bonds such as covalent bonds and conjugate bonds between the graphene oxide layers, so that the graphene nanosheets were firmly bound together to produce a strong and integrated highly conductive graphene film
.

The tensile breaking strength of this film material is 4.
5 times that of ordinary graphene film, and the toughness is 7.
9 times
that of the latter.
The new material can be prepared at room temperature below 45°C, the strength is comparable to that of carbon fiber composites, the cost is cheaper, and it is easy to achieve commercial large-scale preparation
.
This material has a wide application prospect in aerospace, automotive, flexible electronic devices and other fields, and is expected to eventually replace carbon fiber composite materials
used in aircraft, automobiles and other equipment.