Graphene Turns 20: Two Decades of Innovation in Graphene-Enhanced Polymers

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, is the thinnest material known to exist and yet is about 200 times stronger than steel. In the 20 years since its first isolation, graphene has demonstrated remarkable properties, including exceptional mechanical strength, flexibility, electrical and thermal conductivity, and much more. In addition to its use in a wide array of polymers, composites and other materials, it has found useful applications in everything from batteries, transistors and computer chips to water filters, solar cells, touchscreens and DNA-sequencing equipment.

Consisting of single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, graphene is the thinnest material known to exist. Source: Thinkstock

Although graphene’s theoretical existence had been studied as early as the 1940s, it was first isolated in October 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester. Their pioneering work, which earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, involved exfoliating single layers of carbon atoms from graphite using an adhesive tape. This discovery unleashed immense interest across industries due to graphene’s remarkable properties and set in motion 20 years of academic research, application development and breakthrough use cases.

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The first few years following its experimental isolation were largely dedicated to understanding graphene’s fundamental properties. Researchers explored its potential as a wonder material with diverse applications. During this period, the high cost and complexity of producing high-quality graphene limited its use to academic and experimental settings. However, this did not prevent the group of scientists led by American physical chemist and nanoscience research Rodney Ruoff from developing the first graphene polymer composite, aiming to improve the electrical properties of polystyrene (PS), just two years after the isolation of graphene. Since then, interest in graphene’s potential as a game-changing additive for polymers has grown exponentially.

Application Development and Commercial Expansion

As production methods evolved, the availability of graphene improved and costs began to decline. Techniques like chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and liquid-phase exfoliation emerged, enabling scaled production of graphene sheets and flakes. During this phase, the industry started exploring graphene as a lightweight additive to enhance mechanical, thermal and electrical properties in materials like polymers, composites and ceramics.

The integration of graphene into polymers enabled the development of stronger, lighter and more durable materials, and by the mid-2010s, graphene’s applications had expanded significantly. For instance, graphene-enhanced polymers were tested for applications in aerospace, automotive and sports equipment due to graphene’s ability to improve tensile strength and thermal conductivity. Other composite materials with graphene additives were increasingly adopted in aerospace for their weight-saving and strength-enhancing benefits. Similarly, the automotive industry began incorporating graphene in other materials to improve performance, reduce weight and enhance durability.

For the plastics industry, the speed of graphene’s development and commercial usage is remarkable. Whereas it took more than 60 years between carbon fiber’s discovery and its use in automobiles and aircraft, graphene was applied to automobile parts for the first time by Ford in 2018, only 14 years after its isolation.

Researchers are still finding new applications that exploit graphene’s unique properties. Source: Thinkstock

This speed is even more remarkable given the fact that graphene is not one size fits all. The very nature of graphene as a single-atom-thick layer of carbon, which is delivered in powder, sheet film or liquid form — each offering a unique mix of benefits and limitations — means that like snowflakes, graphene can be made to take a virtually unlimited number of forms. In other words, graphene must be uniquely tailored to each potential use case based on specific requirements and one “type” of graphene may be ideal for one use but not any other. The work of application developers played, and continues to play, a critical role in identifying the specific graphene format and admixture recipes for industry to utilize.

Graphene’s Role in Sustainability

From a sustainability perspective, graphene is likely among the most important additive materials for the plastic industry. This is due to its ability to add performance while reducing the weight or volume of a product. It can strengthen diverse plastic products, from flexible packaging to car bumpers, while reducing weight. Across industries, graphene has been shown to reduce the consumption of critical input materials, reduce waste and, often, carbon emissions associated with production.

While biodegradable plastics and bioplastics are garnering attention and gaining traction due to their unique ability to break down organically, they are not yet a realistic alternative for most applications due to their performance profile and higher cost.

On the other hand, improving conventional plastics with graphene is a technologically feasible and economically viable way of promoting plastics’ sustainability given the current context of plastic production, and the fact that these products are already commercially available around the world. In these cases, plastic consumption can be reduced, promoting sustainability and economic benefits to the whole value chain.

Moreover, graphene can be a powerful enabler of the circular economy especially given new legislation that increasingly requires the incorporation of recycled plastic into new products. Since the properties of polymers can degrade with each recycling cycle, graphene can serve as an additive to restore these properties, enabling or enhancing the use of recycled plastics in a wide range of applications. 

The Future of Graphene in Polymer Composite Materials

Graphene is already being used in a variety of products, bringing many benefits. Additionally, the price of graphene has been falling each year due to advances in technology and the increase in the global production scale of the material.

As industries become more proficient in the use of graphene, new applications may be uncovered that harness the material’s superlative properties and push it into new markets. With each new successful case of graphene application, the tendency is for more and more companies to become interested in the material and start exploring its benefits.

Graphene’s structure gives it unique mechanical and conductive properties. Source: Thinkstock

For example, graphene’s excellent mechanical and electrical properties will likely enable new types of advanced multifunctional products. These might include new consumer products like smart textiles, which incorporate graphene into fabrics that can monitor health metrics, generate energy, or integrate lighting or touch controls. It may lead to advancements in flexible electronics like foldable smartphones with bendable displays or custom 3D-printed electronics that are both strong and electrically functional. We are already seeing a rapid increase in interest in the energy sector for graphene-enhanced energy storage, thermal management and a variety of solar cell applications.

Over the past 20 years, graphene has overcome a number of technical and economic barriers and is entering a ramp-up period for new applications, thanks to broad interest across industries and the close collaboration between application developers, industry partners, graphene suppliers and academia. As graphene continues to integrate into various industries, its role in the plastic industry remains a cornerstone of innovation, driving advancements in material science, and transforming how engineers and manufacturers approach design challenges.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Josué Marciano de Olveira Cremonezzi has a Ph.D. in material engineering and nano technology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Brazil) with a one-year traineeship at the University of Mons (Belgium). He currently works as researcher at Gerdau Graphene in the development of graphene-based products and solutions for the plastic industry, with expertise in bridging scientific research and industrial applications to unlock the full potential of graphene. This includes the development of graphene-based masterbatches for the plastics industry.