Environmentally friendly and scalable processes for the production of graphene and applications in advanced functional materials and technologies

石墨烯结合了优异的导热性和导电性以及轻质、柔韧性和强度。这种二维材料在高科技领域的众多先进应用和产品中具有巨大的潜力。尽管开展了大量的研究活动，但事实证明，石墨烯在工业生产，甚至是中试规模上的生产都是极其困难的。缺乏足够的数量和相关的高成本限制了石墨烯基产品的进一步发展。拟议的研究计划的长期目标是开发一种创新的、经济上可行的、环保的工艺，以生产可扩展数量的石墨烯纳米片（GNP），它由几层到多层堆叠的石墨烯组成。这项研究将允许有针对性地设计具有所需特性的产品，使用预测工具，允许调整GNPs的特性以满足特定应用的需要。由此产生的产品将在众多创新产品中具有潜力，包括适用于热管理、润滑剂、储能设备、传感器等的聚合物复合材料。这项研究的短期目标如下：i)发展和优化一种新的环境友好的工业上可行的生产国民生产总值的方法，重点是经济上可行和尽量减少浪费的可持续和环境友好的解决办法。由此产生的GNPs将用于复合材料和其他混合材料的应用，如第iii)和第iv)部分所述。ii)开发方便和具有成本效益的散装表征方法，以表征GNP的特性，并优化用于各种应用的GNP分散体和复合材料的流变（流动）特性。iii)合成具有优异机械性能的轻质热塑性聚合物复合材料，适用于汽车/引擎盖下应用和燃料系统，以及热管理系统，如电子设备外壳。iv)设计通过增材制造加工的集成基板/石墨烯结构，用于创新应用，包括用于个人飞行器（pav）的组件，以及适用于可穿戴传感器的透气多孔结构。拟议的研究计划将培养12名在材料科学和技术、加工和可持续技术方面具有广泛技能的高素质人才。除了为石墨烯制造提供实用、可靠、经济的解决方案外，我们还设想这项研究将在与加拿大经济相关的领域取得突破，并将开发出依赖于石墨烯基材料高可用性和持续可用性的产品。这些成果将使加拿大制造商受益，为他们提供创新材料，以生产追求功能的高附加值产品。

Graphene combines exceptional thermal and electrical conductivity with light-weight, flexibility, and strength. This two-dimensional material has enormous potential in a multitude of advanced applications and products in the high-technology sector. In spite of intense research activity, production of graphene at an industrial, or even pilot-scale level has proven to be extremely difficult. The lack of sufficient quantities, and the associated high cost has limited further development of graphene-based products. The proposed research program has the long-term objective to develop an innovative, economically viable, environmentally friendly process to produce scalable quantities of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), which consist of few to multiple layers of stacked graphene. This research will allow the targeted design of products with desired properties, using predictive tools that will allow tuning the properties of the GNPs to meet the needs of specific applications. The resulting products will have potential in a multitude of innovative products, including polymer composites suitable for thermal management, lubricants, energy storage devices, sensors etc. The research has the following short-term objectives: i)Development and optimization of a new environmentally friendly industrially feasible process to produce GNPs, with a focus on sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions that are economically viable and minimize waste. The resulting GNPs will be used for applications in composites and other hybrid materials, as described in parts iii) and iv). ii) Development of convenient and cost-effective bulk characterization methods to characterize the properties of the GNP, and optimization of the rheological (flow) properties of GNP dispersions and composites for a variety of applications. iii) Synthesis of light-weight thermoplastic polymer composites with superior mechanical properties, suitable for automotive/under-the-hood applications and fuel systems, as well as thermal management systems, such as electronic device housings. iv) Design of integrated substrate/graphene structures processed by additive manufacturing for innovative applications, including components for personal aerial vehicles (PAVs), and breathable, porous structures suitable for wearable sensors. The proposed research program will train a diverse group of 12 highly qualified personnel in a wide-array of skills in materials science and technology, processing and sustainable technologies. In addition to providing a practical, reliable, and cost-effective solution for graphene manufacturing, we envision that this research will result in breakthroughs in sectors of relevance to the Canadian economy, and will develop products that rely on high and consistent availability of graphene-based materials. These outcomes will benefit Canadian manufacturers by providing them with innovative materials to produce high-value-added products having sought after functionalities.