Optimized exfoliation of Canadian natural graphite from the Albany deposit for production of thermally conducting graphene-based laminates

需要进行研究，以优化最近在安大略西北部奥尔巴尼发现的热液存款中的高品质加拿大天然石墨的剥落，特别强调其热性能。这种存款的卓越品质使其产品特别适合高附加值市场，其中石墨的高结晶度和低缺陷率至关重要。使用大量可获得的天然石墨将在许多石墨产品（包括电池、导热膏和散热器）的质量成本优化方面产生重大影响，因为到目前为止，许多此类市场仅保留给合成生产的石墨材料。Zenyatta Ventures Ltd是一家开发奥尔巴尼存款的公司，该公司已经确定，如果他们的石墨被剥离成石墨烯片晶，几种产品的市场渗透率将大大提高。具体地，石墨烯（单层碳原子）和少层石墨烯（2-10层碳原子）的片晶具有显著高于厚石墨堆叠的热导率。在这个项目中，Zenyatta将与WesternUniversity加拿大碳基纳米材料研究主席Fanchini教授的团队合作，Fanchini教授是一位在石墨烯层压材料及其热性能方面经验丰富的学术研究人员。短期目标是深入了解和优化从奥尔巴尼石墨剥离的石墨烯基片晶的结构-热性能关系。该项目的长期目标是使用天然石墨证明导热率>2 10+2 W/m/K，接近或超过最先进的金属散热器。如果成功，该项目将大大提高Albanygraphite的市场竞争力，这反过来将导致安大略西北部的aremote地区的职业和经济前景显着增加，其中非常需要这种发展。

Research is required to optimize the exfoliation of high-quality Canadian natural graphite from the recentlydiscovered hydrothermal deposit in Albany, Northwestern Ontario, with special emphasis to its thermalproperties. The exceptional quality of this deposit makes its products uniquely suited for markets at high addedvalue, in which high crystallinity and low defectiveness of graphite are critical. Using massively availablenatural graphite will lead to significant impact in terms of quality-cost optimization in a number of graphiteproducts, including batteries, thermal pastes, and heat spreaders because, so far, many of such markets haveonly been reserved to synthetically produced graphitic materials. Zenyatta Ventures Ltd, the company that hasbeen developing the Albany deposit, has determined that the market penetration of several products will bedramatically enhanced if their graphite is exfoliated into graphene platelets. Specifically, platelets of graphene(a single-layer of carbon atoms) and few-layer graphene (2-10 layers of carbon atoms) possess a thermalconductivity that is significantly higher than thick graphitic stacks. In this project, Zenyatta will work inpartnership with the team of Prof. Fanchini, Canada Research Chair in Carbon based nanomaterials at WesternUniversity, an academic researchers experienced in graphene laminates and their thermal properties. Theshort-term objective is to gain insight into, and to optimize, the structure-thermal performance relationship ingraphene-based platelets exfoliated from Albany graphite. Long-term objective of the project is to demonstrate,using natural graphite, thermal conductivities >2 10+2 W/m/K, approaching or exceeding those of state-of-theart metallic heat spreaders. If successful, the project will dramatically enhance the marketability of Albanygraphite, which, on its turn will lead to a significant increase in occupational and economic perspectives for aremote area in Northwestern Ontario, in which such development is much needed.