Graphene, as a new nanomaterial, has outstanding performances and a wide range of applications. At present, it is mainly used in energy, composite materials, filtration and purification. However, due to the high research and development costs of graphene and the complete realization of industrialization, market applications have not been fully promoted. With the maturity of technology and commercial use, graphene's application in the field of energy storage and composite materials will be greatly expanded.
Graphene has outstanding performance advantages and a wide range of applications
Graphene is a new type of single-layer nanomaterial with hexagonal honeycomb lattice composed of carbon atoms with sp2 hybrid orbitals. It is the thinnest, highest strength, and the best thermal conductivity of a new type of material. Performance, thermal properties, absorbance, penetrability, mechanical properties and other physical and chemical properties are outstanding in all aspects, so it is called "Xueba-type" new materials, "black gold", "king of materials", from being prepared It has been widely concerned since its application.
At present, due to the high research and development costs of global graphene, industrialization has not yet been fully realized. From the perspective of the development of global graphene commercial products, on the one hand, China has taken the lead in the world in terms of graphene R & D and product market applications; on the other hand, in the application field, graphene is currently the largest in the market. The fields are composite materials and energy, followed by a small number of applications in other fields such as filtration and purification. In the future, graphene will also be industrialized in energy storage materials (lithium batteries, super capacitors), semiconductors, display devices, thermal management, materials science, environmental protection, biomedicine, aerospace and other fields, with a wide range of applications and a bright market prospect. .
Graphene has broad application prospects in the field of composite materials and energy, both of which will occupy more than half of the market share
More specifically, in the field of composite materials, the reduction in the cost of graphene has accelerated the process of industrialization. At present, graphene is mainly used in fields such as conductive inks, thermally conductive films, anticorrosive coatings, and reinforcing materials (plastics, alloys). Among them, the application of graphene in the field of conductive inks and reinforced materials has been very mature and has achieved industrialization; while the application in the field of thermal conductive films and anticorrosive coatings is also relatively mature, at an early stage of industrialization.
It is worth mentioning that, on the one hand, graphene is technically compounded with other materials in the form of particles, the surface of graphene is smooth, the filler-matrix interface interaction is not strong, and the dispersion is uneven; on the other hand, in the market In the past, the domestic graphene production capacity was severely overwhelmed, the downstream application demand for graphene was weak, and the positioning was unclear, so it is difficult to see truly qualified graphene products on the market. These two factors directly restrict the application of graphene in the field of composite materials.
In the field of energy, graphene is mainly used in the production of electrode materials, semiconductor chips and sensors. Among them, graphene has a significant effect on improving the performance of lithium batteries. The advantages of graphene-lithium batteries are mainly reflected in the following: first, compared with existing types of batteries, the energy density of graphene-lithium batteries per unit weight can reach the traditional 3 times the battery, higher output energy; second, in the application of traditional lithium batteries, if the negative graphite is replaced with graphene, the charging speed can be increased by 10 times; third, graphene as the best thermally conductive material, can Better heat dissipation, improve battery stability, prevent battery failure and short circuit.
However, although the output energy of graphene is higher per unit weight, its unit price is far higher than that of finished graphite powder, thus restricting the application of graphene in the industrial production of lithium batteries, and it is difficult to achieve large-scale commercial application in the short term. However, from the perspective of future trends, on the one hand, graphene is added to the electrode material as a conductive agent, and the effect is higher than natural graphite and acetylene black, which can improve cycle performance; on the other hand, the special nanostructure of graphene makes it have a high ratio Surface area and good stability, can be used to develop graphene-based composite electrode materials, such as graphene / silicon-based, graphene / tin-based, graphene / metal oxide, etc. Therefore, although the application of graphene in the field of lithium batteries has not yet been promoted, there is an excellent imagination space in the future.
In summary, although about 80% of the current application of graphene is still in the scientific research field, in the future, as the industrialization of graphene continues to advance, its fields will be promoted, among which composite materials and energy (energy storage) will be its applications. Largest market. According to IDTechEx's forecast, by 2026, approximately 24% and 38% of the world's graphene will be used in composite materials and energy storage devices. In addition, graphene is used in coatings, inks, sensors, circuits, and transparent conductive films Will also be better applied.