DURHAM, England—Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. and the Manchester, England-based Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre have developed a graphene application that the companies say bodes well for the development of graphene in nanocomposites.
Thomas Swan said GEIC recently produced a fiber using polyamide 6 and a 0.2 percent loading of Thomas Swan's graphene nanoplatelets. Typical application of such a monofiber includes use in carbon brushes for motors, seat belts and fishing line.
"This is yet another example of the use of our GNP in nanocomposite applications," said Michael Edwards, commercial director of advanced materials at Durham-based Thomas Swan. "We will continue our collaboration with the GEIC to enhance the range of polymeric solutions available for various application examples, demonstrating our continued commitment to graphene production."
According to GEIC, the center was able to extrude and spin 1.5 kilometers of the fiber with a 0.39mm diameter.
John Vickers, application specialist at GEIC, said the fiber reel was manufactured using the Xplore fiber spin line.
"The Xplore fiber spin line has the capability of spinning materials down to typically 50 microns, subject to formulation," he said.