Northern Graphite has successfully produced graphene on a trial basis utilizing large flake-graphite from its Bissett Creek property in the region of Northern Ontario.
The company’s standard flake-graphite containing 95% carbon, used as a raw material for producing graphene was tested by a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who is researching to develop graphene sheets of size bigger than 30cm2 employing graphene oxide technology. The evaluation results showed that graphene developed using Northern Graphite’s jumbo flakes was larger in size and exhibited better transparency, low resistance, and high electrical conductivity than China’s large flake and powder graphite.
Nearly 70% of graphite flakes obtained from the property will be +80 mesh large flakes and most of this will include +48 mesh huge flakes. These +48 mesh flakes are anticipated to be expensive and will prove to be a good source of raw material for manufacturing graphene.
University of Manchester won the noble prize for isolating graphene in 2010. Being transparent in visible and infrared light, graphene is versatile and more robust than steel. It is capable of carrying 1000 times the electric current density of copper wire and can transmit heat more rapidly when compared to copper. Graphene is unique in that it is capable of creating ultra-small transistors and enables ultra-dense storage of data, can increase efficiency of solar cells and increase energy storage holding potential for a wide range of applications.
According to Georgia Tech University’s professor, at present approximately 200 companies are participating in research work of graphene. South Korea and the European Union have individually invested $1.5 billion to develop large-scale, advanced display materials utilizing graphene, replacing indium tin oxide.
Source: http://www.northerngraphite.com/