STTR Phase I: Large-Scale Production of Pristine Nano Graphene

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I project is directed toward the rapid, large-scale production of pristine nano graphene platelets (NGPs) ? an emerging class of nano materials expected to have a revolutionary impact on nanotechnology. NGPs exhibit exceptional properties as do carbon nanotubes (CNTs), but can be mass-produced at much lower costs. NGPs exhibit the highest intrinsic strength and highest thermal conductivity of the existing materials. Highly conductive graphene will find practical applications in nanoelectronics, transparent and conductive coating (e.g., as a replacement for ITO glass), supercapacitor, battery electrode, fuel cell bipolar plates, thermal interface materials, and conductive nanocomposite. The total potential market size for conductive nano fillers/nanocomposites is forecast to reach $5 billion ($550M for automotive components alone) by 2013.