A protective coatings specialist based in England has used graphene in a new coating system for the first time
Graphene is the most impermeable material known to man and so the perfect ingredient for protecting metal against corrosion and moisture ingress. Applied Graphene Materials UK Ltd (AGM) is supplying its graphene for use in a new liquid coating to stop metal roofs from corroding.
It has been shown that low loadings of AGM’s graphene platelets (A-GNP10/A-GNP35(T)) in epoxy coating systems drastically improves corrosion performance, this is due to the impenetrable barrier created by the graphene. The barrier blocks almost 100% of corrosive elements such as water molecules, salt and other harmful chemicals.
AGM uses sustainable materials to manufacture graphene. This is because graphite, which is used in other processes, is in scarce supply. The company also announced in July 2019 the successful deployment of graphene in to water based coatings. Increasingly strict regulations on the use of solvent based coatings, which are bad for the environment and workers using them, has driven the development of water based anti-corrosion coatings.
Advantage Graphene
Advantage Graphene is the name given to this new coating system. It has been put through an extensive product development and rigorous testing programme. All results so far have demonstrated its unrivalled performance. With a 30 year year guarantee for industrial and commercial roofs, the manufacturers are confident of a long life-span for this revolutionary product.
AGM says its new system provides “significantly enhanced anti-corrosion performance” which is thanks to the use of graphene in the coating. Promotion of the new product is already in full swing and its been offered to trade customers for use on a number of projects throughout 2019 and beyond. As the news spreads and early feedback from customers continues to be positive, the company expects popularity and demand for the product to increase exponentially.
AGM chief executive Adrian Potts said;
Partnering with coatings companies was a key objective of the company and in the global protective coatings industry it was “working with a number of undisclosed commercial partners.
What is Graphene?
Graphene was first created by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester in 2004. The pair went on to win the Nobel Prize in 2010 for their work on graphene. Graphene is a combination of “graphite” and the suffix “-ene”. Geim and Novoselov removed thin layers of surface material from graphite with sticky tape. The layers where then deposited on wafer thin silicon. Graphene’s stability is due to its tightly packed carbon atoms and a sp2 orbital hybridization. Its the thinnest material known to man and 200 times stronger than steel. It also creates an impenetrable barrier to water and corrosive chemicals.
WATCH: Applied Graphene showcases its technology at prestigious industry event
Find out more about Graphene
Visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene to read more technical information.