Composite epoxy introduces graphene foam for strength and conductivity

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Scientists have developed a low-density epoxy for electronic applications that is claimed to be substantially tougher than pure epoxy and more conductive than other epoxy composites.

The advance from Rice University in Texas combines epoxy with graphene foam invented in the lab of chemist James Tour and could improve on current epoxies that weaken the material's structure with the addition of conductive fillers. The new material is detailed in ACS Nano.

Epoxy is an insulator used in coatings, adhesives, electronics, industrial tooling and structural composites. Metal or carbon fillers can be added for applications where conductivity is desired, but more filler brings better conductivity at the cost of weight and compressive strength, and the composite becomes harder to process.

The Rice solution replaces metal or carbon powders with a three-dimensional foam made of nanoscale sheets of graphene.

The Tour lab, in collaboration with Rice materials scientists Pulickel Ajayan, Rouzbeh Shahsavari and Jun Lou and Yan Zhao of Beihang University in Beijing, took their inspiration from projects to inject epoxy into 3D scaffolds including graphene aerogels, foams and skeletons from various processes.

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