Graphene, the wonder material, has proved to be a game changer in the research and development of nanomaterials. Due to its exciting properties, it is seems to be slowly entering the market in all sorts of products. Graphene is a one-atom thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb like pattern, and is considered to be the world’s thinnest, strongest and most conductive material of electricity as well as heat. The best part is that the wonder material can be used to enhance the strength of other materials. In this post, we take a look at some of the top graphene-based products that have been developed and serve a lot many purposes.
Cycling helmets: Graphene-based cycling helmets have been developed by Spanish sports equipment company Catlike. According to the company, using graphene in making the helmets not just made it safer, but also helped in ensuring increased ventilation and reducing its weight. The inner skeleton of the helmet has been treated with graphene, effectively improving the entire mechanical performance and impact energy absorption. The Catlike cycling helmets are one among a wide range of graphene-related innovations in sporting equipments.
Graphene-silver Membrane: Following the outbreak of Covid—19 pandemic, India-based nanotechnology company Nanomatrix Materials combined the power of graphene and silver to develop a membrane with strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. According to the manufacturers, the graphene-silver membrane possesses atomically sharp edges of graphene, which function as nano-knives to damage the outer wall of microbes. Enhancing the power of the membrane are silver nanoparticles that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in oxidative conditions, causing irreversible damage to the genetic material of viruses and bacteria. The membrane is breathable, washable and anti-odour.
Sound drivers: Berkley-based consumer electronic goods manufacturer GraphAudio has developed an electrostatic driver that is powered by a graphene diaphragm, which vibrates in a physical analogy to the audio electrical signal, generating high quality sound. The diaphragms are extremely thin and light weighted, and converts almost all the energy inside into sound. According to the manufacturers, the graphene transducers ensure no distortion and required abysmally low power to function.
Batteries: After comprehensive research spanning over years, Los Angeles-based company Real Graphene introduced graphene batteries earlier in 2020. While an average 3000mAh phone battery takes almost one and a half hours to charge completely, the graphene enhanced batteries can be charged fully in just 20 minutes. The usual batteries cannot stand a sustained 60W charging load, but that’s not the case with the graphene batteries. They also have a longer lifetime. Most phone batteries can last around 600 charge cycles while these batteries can last at least 1500 charge cycles. The cell further generates much less heat, hence it’s safer.