Graphene is an allotrope, or one of the several physical forms of carbon, other examples being graphite, fullerenes and diamond. At the atomic level, it is in the form of a sheet with a thickness nominally under 1.0 nanometer and up to 1 micron in diameter. Sheets of such dimensions, when added to other composites, facilitate increases in thermal and electrical conductivity and—in the case of elastomer nanocomposites—improvements in hysteresis, compounding ingredient dispersion, ag- ing resistance and reductions in permeability.
Such property enhancements in elastomer nanocomposites can in turn enable improvements in tire compound properties such as truck tire tread damage resistance and abrasion resistance, and tire innerliner performance.
In the case of innerliners, graphene would be more miscible with isobutylene copolymers such as bromobutyl rubber, typically used for tire innerliners, than inorganic plate-like fillers such as kaolin clays or talcs. This enables a higher degree of exfoliation and, due to the plate aspect ratios, offer improved properties at much lower loadings than other plate-like additives. Graphene thus provides a potential to provide the platform for the next incremental improvement in tire performance.